Latest news with #JeremyHunt
Times
a day ago
- Automotive
- Times
Hunt looks a big figure now he's out of office
A surprise hit at the Buxton International Festival this year has been Jeremy Hunt. I was among a huge audience for an interview not only about the former chancellor's new book (Can We Be Great Again? — dubbed by one wag Can We Be a Bit Better Again?) but also about his life in politics. Modest, experienced, obviously capable, gently funny and courteous even about Liz Truss, whose economic mess he rescued us from, we may forget that though still quite young, Hunt has been culture secretary and health secretary, as well as foreign secretary and chancellor. When (he told us) he was on holiday abroad as a backbencher, and Downing Street telephoned to say the embattled Truss wanted to speak urgently to him, he assumed it was a hoax call and hung up. Literally everyone I've spoken to at Buxton who heard him was singing his praises. It made me think. Hunt, Hague, Balls, Osborne, Cameron, Milburn, Sunak, Blair, Major … these seem like big figures now that (as it were) they've gone. Were they really big — or did politics just get small? Being 75 and no Jeremy Clarkson I was bemused to be invited to drive a Polestar 2 for a fortnight — especially when they said I didn't need to write about it. But what the heck. So, for the record, it was fun. With a range of more than 300 miles I've been driving it all over the place; we already have an EV Fiat 500 which we love; and this latest experience convinces me that EVs are here to stay: solid, quiet, easy to drive, giddying acceleration … having now tried both a small electric runabout and a serene electric family saloon, there's no way now I'll ever go back to petrol engines. But (and it's a big but) please, please, Polestar, Tesla, all of you EV designers, stop asking us to use a tablet screen for our controls. If we want to play computer games we can do that in a lay-by, not at 70mph in the fast lane. It took both of us about 20 minutes to work out the in-car climate controls. Away with screens! Buttons, levers, knobs, things you push, pull, slide or twist while keeping your eyes on the road are so much more intuitive. Using smartphones when driving was criminalised for a reason. My favourite musical experience so far at Buxton has been the 'Shorts' evening: first performances of four 20-minute operas from young composers. And of these my favourite was the last, from Thanda Gumede: Tears Are Not Meant to Stay Inside, sung mostly in Zulu. I could even understand bits of the libretto without the surtitles. This was brilliant: African-influenced classical music, beautifully sung. A young black woman, isolated and lonely in the city, seeks help from what we once called a witchdoctor but now more accurately call a traditional healer who, helped by a bag of bones and relics, connects her with the world of spirits and ancestors. Connecting out, she also connects within, and is liberated. Moved as I was, I disagreed with the moral of the story. I believe that in tribal African cultures the chain of authority, the links between authority and the supernatural, the hierarchy mediating any individual's relations with the supernatural, and the fear, the cursing as well as the blessing that glues the system together, crushes the individual and incubates a collective cringe that goes with the grain of the Big Man politics poisoning Africa. But that's just my opinion; Gumede's opera, and the wonderful voices of Roberta Philip, Danielle Mahailet and Themba Mvula made me think — and, perhaps more important — made us feel. At Buxton I enjoyed too a work by a young Leonard Bernstein, Trouble in Tahiti, set around 1950. I all but detected an early draft of There's a Place for Us from West Side Story. But a thought on the visual scene. Formica table; two-piece grey suit and tie, short-back-and-sides for the husband; colourful frock for the wife. You could time-travel that scene to 2025 and the dislocation would be noticeable only at the margins. Over what other leap in our history (1875 to 1950? 1815 to 1890?) could you, with so little adjustment, update a scene by three quarters of a century?
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
In the wake of infected blood and Lucy Letby scandals... I'll bar negligent NHS managers from senior jobs, Wes Streeting pledges
NHS managers who are found responsible for professional misconduct will be barred from taking up other senior roles in the Health Service, under plans to be unveiled by ministers. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has been moved to act by a string of NHS scandals, including the cover-up over infected blood and the deaths of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital, which employed nurse Lucy Letby. Under the plans, board-level directors who have committed serious misconduct will no longer be able to work in senior NHS management positions. To limit the scope for cover-ups, whistleblowers will also be encouraged to come forward. Any leader who silences whistleblowers or behaves unacceptably will be banned from returning to a Health Service position. There is currently no regulatory framework for managers equivalent to that for doctors and nurses. More than 30,000 people in the UK were infected with HIV and hepatitis C after they were given contaminated blood and blood products between the 1970s and early 1990s. More than 3,000 people have died as a result – but a damning report published last year concluded that doctors, the Government and NHS tried to cover up what happened by 'hiding the truth'. Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven more, but a growing number of public figures, led by former health secretary Jeremy Hunt and ex-Supreme Court judge Lord Sumption, have expressed concern about the absence of direct evidence or plausible motive linking her to the deaths – at a hospital known to have struggled to keep very premature babies alive. Three former senior managers at the hospital were arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter earlier this year. Mr Streeting said: 'I'm determined to create a culture of honesty and openness where whistleblowers are protected, and that demands tough enforcement. 'If you silence whistleblowers, you will never work in the NHS again. We've got to create the conditions where staff are free to come forward and sound the alarm when things go wrong. 'Protecting the reputation of the NHS should never be put before protecting patient safety. 'Most NHS leaders are doing a fantastic job, but we need to stop the revolving door that allows managers sacked for misconduct or incompetence to be quietly moved to another well-paid role in another part of the NHS.'
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
The Daily T: Can We Be Great Again? Jeremy Hunt and John Bolton on how to deal with China
As Donald Trump threatens to increase his tariffs on China to 100 per cent, how should the UK approach the second biggest economy in the world? Jeremy Hunt, the former chancellor, is joined by John Bolton, the former US national security adviser and former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and Sir Simon McDonald, the former head of the diplomatic service at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, to ask if Mr Trump has got the right idea and, ultimately, if China can be trusted? Speaking from first-hand experience, Mr Bolton outlines in the podcast why Mr Trump is so obsessed with China, and how it comes from him wanting 'more than anything else' to strike 'the biggest economic deal in history' with Xi Jinping, China's president. Mr Hunt also talks to his guests about the UK's 'confused' trade policy with China and his own involvement in the U-turn that blocked Huawei from any involvement in our 5G networks, democracy crackdowns in Hong Kong and the continued threats to the sovereignty of Taiwan. As well as talking about his experiences dealing with Mr Xi during his time as foreign secretary and how the Government needs to ' follow the security advice ' about the proposed new Chinese 'super-embassy' in London, Mr Hunt makes clear his belief that Britain must have the confidence to remain a major player on the global stage. In this special Daily T series, inspired by his new book, Mr Hunt pitches his optimism and ideas to leading experts on how the UK can change the world for the better. From mass migration to leading the AI revolution, we ask, can we be great again?
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Non-dom arrivals plunged as Labour prepared for power
However, it came as opinion polls suggested Labour was on course to win power. Tax lawyers were already then warning of a drop in new inquiries from wealthy overseas clients considering a move to the UK amid Labour's plans to rip up the regime. The fall in well-heeled newcomers also came as former Jeremy Hunt announced in March 2024 he would overhaul the scheme, after months of briefings. Uncompetitive and unattractive Phineas Hirsch, a partner at law firm Payne Hicks Beach, said the fall in new arrivals 'reflects the fact that the writing had been on the wall for some time'. He added: 'Sadly, despite what the current Government has claimed, its tax reforms are not making Britain competitive or attractive. 'Not only are fewer of the world's super-rich coming to live in the UK; thousands are actively leaving – relocating to Italy, Switzerland, the UAE and other jurisdictions which have been introducing their own non-dom tax regimes, because they see the value in attracting inbound wealth and spending power.' In total there were 73,700 non-doms living in the UK in the year to March 2024, roughly 400 fewer than the previous 12 months. Despite the small decline, this group paid £9bn in tax – £107m more than the prior year. The new figures come amid growing alarm that Rachel Reeves's changes have sparked an exodus of the wealthy from Britain. The Chancellor went further than her predecessor by bringing people's global assets, including anything held in previously shielded offshore trusts, within scope of the UK's 40pc inheritance tax. This applies for a decade after the person leaves the UK. High-profile departures Ms Reeves is understood to be considering softening these more controversial rules to stem the flow of wealthy people packing up and leaving. High-profile departures in the wake of the tax changes include Goldman Sachs' most senior banker outside the US Richard Gnodde and Aston Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris. Reliable numbers on the scale of a potential wealth exodus will not become available until at least a year. However, sales of luxury properties in London's wealthiest neighbourhoods have slumped. Wealth migration adviser Henley and Partners predicts the UK will lose more millionaires than any other country this year, projecting a fall of 16,500. The HMRC analysis shows any exodus is likely to hit London the hardest. Some 58pc of non-doms live in the capital.
Rhyl Journal
6 days ago
- Business
- Rhyl Journal
Fewer people claimed non-dom tax status in UK ahead of Government crackdown
There were about 73,700 people claiming non-domiciled tax status in the year ending in April last year, according to estimates from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). This was 400 fewer than the 2022-23 tax year, or a dip of about 0.5%. The number of non-doms, according to self-assessment tax returns, stood 3,900 below that in the tax year ending 2020. It indicates a slowdown in the number of people claiming the tax status following a post-pandemic resurgence. Non-domiciled means UK residents whose permanent home, or their 'domicile' for tax purposes, is outside the UK. The regime meant that so-called non-doms paid tax in the UK only on income generated in the UK – meaning any income earned overseas was exempt from British taxation. However, the Labour Government abolished the non-dom tax status in April following backlash that wealthy residents could enjoy the benefits of living in the UK without paying as much tax. Previous chancellor Jeremy Hunt estimated that scrapping the regime would raise about £2.7 billion for the Treasury by 2028-29. Recent data showed the UK saw the biggest fall in billionaires on record amid the Government non-dom clampdown. The Sunday Times Rich List said there were fewer of the world's 'super rich' coming to live in Britain. HMRC's data published on Thursday showed that some £9 billion was raised from non-doms paying income tax, capital gains tax and national insurance last year. This was a £107 million increase on the prior year, despite the dip in the number of individuals.
