Latest news with #Henrys
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Starmer's Britain is good at only one thing: driving out the wealthy and ambitious
It doesn't lead the world in developing new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence. It isn't breaking new ground in science, technology, or even in music, literature or fashion. Still, Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Britain is at least leading the world in one respect. It has become better than anywhere else at driving out the wealthy, the young, and the ambitious. There is just one catch. The Government doesn't appear to have any ideas on how to stem the exodus, nor how to replace all the tax revenues that will leave with them. The evidence that money and talent is fleeing Britain is becoming more alarming all the time. Guillaume Pousaz, Swiss-born billionaire founder of fintech giant Checkout, has become the latest to leave. We learned this week that he has shifted his tax residency from Britain to Monaco, following the decision by the Chancellor Rachel Reeve to abolish the non-dom rule that allowed wealthy foreigners to limit their tax bills in the UK. He joins the likes of the billionaire steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and the senior Goldman Sachs banker Richard Goode in getting out of the country. Over the last year, an estimated 10,000 millionaires have left the UK, according to Henley & Partners, second only to Russia, and the real total may be even higher. But it is not just a handful of the super-rich who are getting out. The young and ambitious are increasingly leaving for the Gulf States such as Dubai or Qatar, for Australia, where the youth mobility scheme allows them to live or work, or for the United States, if they can get a visa. Likewise, the 'Henrys', or 'High Earners, Not Yet Rich' are fleeing as well. It is not hard to understand why. The non-dom crackdown has created one of the most punitive tax regimes in the world for foreigners. They are now subject not just to our income taxes, but to inheritance tax at 40 per cent on their global assets, as well as capital gains tax if they sell their company. Many simply have to leave or face financial ruin. Likewise, frozen thresholds and tapered personal allowances now mean many successful self-employed or young professionals face marginal tax rates of 70 per cent or more on their earnings (and even more if they are crazy enough to live in Scotland). Perhaps worse of all, the dire state of the public finances means that everyone knows there is far worse to come over the next two or three years, with taxes rising relentlessly to pay for soaring welfare bills and public sector wages. The only rational decision is to get out while you still can. A desperate Labour Chancellor – perhaps an Angela Rayner-type – may even impose an exit tax, as other countries have tried to. It is catastrophic for any country to lose its wealthiest, most energetic, talented, ambitious, and hardest-working people. They drive investment, innovation, and entrepreneurship. More than any other group, they create the wealth that allows the country to flourish. But it is especially catastrophic for Britain. The reason is simple. Over the last thirty years, we have narrowed our tax base, so that the Government is very dependent on a small group of people. The top 1 per cent now pay 28 per cent of the total for income tax, and the top 10 per cent pay 60 per cent of the total. For capital gains tax, dividend taxes, and corporation tax the percentage will be even higher. As they leave, the revenue collected will collapse. Even worse, as the exodus gathers steam, the Government is doing precisely nothing to stop it. Any rational government, faced with losing 30 per cent of its tax revenue, would be frantically finding ways of persuading them to stay. Instead, Labour is complacently watching them leave, as if it makes no difference. It is going to prove a very expensive mistake – because the UK will find it very hard to get all those people back once they have left. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
29-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Who are the Henrys? The voters Starmer is desperate to capture
You can hardly blame Labour for desperately trying to find new pockets of support. But going after Henrys – the 'High Earners, Not Rich Yet' – is surely a lost cause. Reports suggest Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to pursue some of Britain's best-paid workers – young people in the top 10 per cent when it comes to their salaries but who are nonetheless left with precious little at the end of the month after taxes, childcare and lifestyle inflation. Wealth accumulation is, as a result, for now off the table. There are some 800,000 of them in England and Wales, according to a Telegraph analysis of census data. Unfortunately for the Prime Minister, many of them are already urbanites in constituencies that helped put the Government in power. Far from Labour gaining support, it has slipped away among these golden voters faster than in any other group. As it languishes in the polls, it is perhaps no surprise that Labour is scrambling around for supporters it can please. The Sunday Times reported that Sir Keir's advisers have identified Henrys as a key group – a decision perhaps driven by Labour's recent popularity with professional, urban university graduates alienated from the Tories by Brexit. Henrys are not precisely defined in academic literature. Courtiers, a wealth manager, mentions a salary threshold of £100,000, while others claim the term applies exclusively to millennials. As a best proxy, these could also be considered 25 to 49-year-olds on the highest rung of the socioeconomic classification of jobs – precocious chief executives, senior administrators and finance managers, lawyers and consultants. But in a country where average house prices are fast approaching £300,000 – up 40 per cent in a decade – even a high salary cannot guarantee home ownership, the key to long-term wealth. The latest survey by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found net property wealth made up the largest proportion of household wealth at 40 per cent. Henrys, however, are likely to be trapped in the private rental market. By these metrics, London's Canary Wharf, whose residents neighbour the world's biggest banks in glass towers overlooking the Thames, is home to the greatest proportion of Henrys at one in five. Of the electoral wards with the highest concentration of Henrys, Telegraph analysis of local-level 2024 general election results compiled by Britain Elects shows 78 per cent were won by Labour. This approach makes this core of Henrys total 803,247 at the time of the latest census, in 2021 – just under 2 per cent of Britain's 50 million-strong working age population at the time. While polling on what exactly Henrys want is scarce, a Reddit page dedicated to the group makes it abundantly clear what bothers them – their tax bill, the accessibility of housing and the prohibitive expense of living the way they want. In practice, Labour has done little to win them over so far. In 2021, the Tories fixed income tax thresholds until 2028, a decision Rachel Reeves shied away from reversing in her maiden budget last October. Ever more workers are set to be dragged into higher tax bands over the course of this parliament as a result. Those taking in over £100,000 a year – who now number some 1.4 million across the UK – owe £3,200 more in income tax and National Insurance in 2025/26 than they did in 2015-16. Inflation had been falling for 17 consecutive months until July last year. From a post-cost of living crisis low of 2 per cent, Labour's tax raid in April helped send it back up to 3.5 per cent. As for housing, few have been spared from the affordability crisis. Property cost 2.5 times the annual earnings of someone on the cusp of the top 10 per cent of earners back in 2000 – this ratio has now soared to four. Many of them live in the capital, where house prices averaged £552,000 this March – double the £271,000 figure for the wider UK. To make matters worse, the end of the stamp duty holiday has just made that first purchase £8,750 dearer. Molly Broome, a senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said many of the Henrys could benefit from policies to tackle intergenerational unfairness. 'Lots of people have accrued wealth in the UK as a result of being homeowners, but millennials are much less likely to own their own home by the age of 30,' she said. 'Most are stuck in the private rented sector, which is the most unaffordable form of tenure. We've seen the length of time people are saving for their deposit increased.' After the collapse of Labour's majority in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election on May 1, Sir Keir claimed his party had to 'go further and faster to deliver' on its pledges. Four weeks later, Labour clocked the lowest polling share YouGov had recorded for the party since it began tracking voting intention in 2019, at just 21 per cent. Polling of those belonging to the ABC1 socioeconomic group, representing the middle and upper classes, had also slumped to an all-time low of 22 per cent by the end of May. It is among the 25 to 49s – the Henry demographic – that their standing has seen the steepest decline, down over 18 points from 44 to 25.6 per cent, according to the Telegraph's poll of polls. In the Henry-heavy wards last summer, where more than one in 20 meet the criteria, 44.2 per cent cast their vote for Labour. Mapping the decline above on to this would see it fall to 25.7 per cent. Ms Broome added that the Government was attempting to alleviate this problem by building more homes. As long as these homes included a good proportion of social housing, this should reduce rents in the private sector, making it easier for Henrys to save up for a deposit. She also called for changes to council tax, making it less regressive to ensure those with the largest homes pay more and those just starting out pay less. Stamp duty could also be scrapped, she said, as it is a barrier to home ownership for first time buyers. Meanwhile, child care costs rise hugely for workers who earn more than £100,000 a year as free nursery hours and tax credits are withdrawn. 'Childcare is also a big issue for older millennials, many of whom are choosing whether to work or send a child to nursery,' said Ms Broome. 'There are also cliff edges in the tax system which create perverse incentives not to earn an extra penny. Extending tapers would be one way the Government can improve the situation for these individuals.'
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
When Bolton went all-American with the first drive-through in the UK
Today you will find drive-throughs in every town in the country. Starting out as the preserve of burger chains, the UK is now full of businesses where you can be served without leaving your car. It is used by coffee chains like Costa and Starbucks, street food such as Chaiiwala and even posh bakery chain Gail's is looking at opening drive-throughs for those who need their sourdough pronto. But there was a time when this was not the case. Henrys, the first drive-through in the country, before its opening. Taken in October 1980 (Image: Newsquest) The very first drive-through in the country was only established in 1980, in our very own Bolton. Henrys opened its doors in November of that year on Derby Street, long before McDonald's came along on the same road. The restaurant was known for its fish and chips and pies, but its American diner decor was matched by its menu, and customers could also indulge themselves in burgers and banana shakes. It was featured in a BBC package in 1981, exploring the alien concept of drive-throughs. Did you know that the country's first ever fast food drive-through was in Bolton? 🤔 It was called Henrys and was featured on an episode of the BBC1 programme Home Front in 1981. We're looking back at the film as part of our Rewind series, celebrating 100 years of the BBC. ⬇️ — BBC North West (@BBCNWT) September 27, 2022 In the piece by legendary TV reporter Brian Redhead, drivers are also shown to be given a branded Henrys car sticker. Mr Redhead says: 'A Henrys automated chippery on Bolton's busy Derby Street, technology has added several brand new dimension to the noble bag of fish and chips. Read more: UK's first drive-thru opened in Bolton - serving up fish and chips Read more: Wanderers Burnden Park ground pictured covered in adverts! Read more: Bolton Market Place photos show shopping centre just after opening "Fish if you want it, but statutory seven ounce portions of chips with everything, from peas and pies to burgers and banana shakes. 'At the North West's first drive-in chip shop it's simply a matter of placing your order at one window and steering a steady course to another while it's being rapidly dispensed. Henry's dining room, November 1980 (Image: Newsquest) 'Then all you have to do is pay.' A fee of £1.99 is exchanged for one Henrys burger, chips and mushy peas, and one portion of fish and chips, accompanied by a 'shake'. 'You don't even have to shake your own salt and vinegar, they come in plastic sachets,' Mr Redhead ends by saying. Henrys was also the first restaurant in the UK to introduce a braille menu, so people with visual impairments could order too.
