Latest news with #LabourGovernment
The Independent
8 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves in stand-off over Labour's spending plans
Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves are at loggerheads over the crucial spending review as the deputy prime minister's department passed an unofficial deadline to settle its budget until the next general election without securing an agreement. With the spending review set to be unveiled on 11 June, departments have told The Independent that the Treasury wanted their plans agreed by the start of this weekend. But The Independent understands that Ms Rayner's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is one of a number of departments yet to settle with Ms Reeves and her deputy Darren Jones. The clash at the top of the Labour government comes as ministers resist cuts to their departments and marks a distinct clash over political philosophy between the two most senior women in the government. Ms Rayner wants a more progressive higher tax approach with fewer cuts, while Ms Reeves is being accused of wanting ' austerity 2.0'. Ms Reeves has also been struggling to reach deals with Yvette Cooper's Home Office; Steve Reed's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; and Ed Miliband's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Only defence with a spending package of 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product, and health budgets are protected, with others expected to find efficiency savings to help Ms Reeves balance the books. Sources have said that claims Ms Rayner stormed out of a meeting last weekend, slamming the door, were 'not true', but admitted conversations, while 'cordial', have 'not been easy'. Now it is understood that her demands for a proper settlement for local government in England, as well as funding for the affordable homes scheme beyond 2026, have left her at loggerheads with the chancellor. Trade unions are also taking a very close look at the settlement for councils which will be tied closely to pay demands over the coming years. Already councils like Birmingham have been facing potential bankruptcy because of tight budgets and wage demands. The stand-off comes just a week after a memo from Ms Rayner to Ms Reeves was leaked to the Daily Telegraph in a move which allies of the deputy prime minister described as 'poisonous'. In it she suggested eight different wealth taxes as an alternative to cuts as well as limiting benefits for migrants and reintroducing a payback scheme for middle class families claiming child benefit which was originally introduced by former Tory chancellor George Osborne and then ditched by Jeremy Hunt. An ally of the deputy prime minister noted that 'she is at least make the progressive case' for an alternative to Ms Reeves' strategy. The row comes amid concerns by Labour MPs that Ms Reeves is 'pushing for austerity 2.0'. Already the chancellor has been forced into accepting a U-turn on cutting winter fuel payments to pensioners. She and Sir Keir Starmer are also facing a rebellion from Labour backbenchers on cutting disability benefits. The chancellor has also had her hand forced on investment for red wall constituencies where Labour MPs are under threat of losing their seats to Reform. There have been reports that she plans to splurge on projects in the north of England and midlands by tweaking her strict borrowing rules. Ms Reeves is under added pressure because of the strict borrowing rules she has imposed on herself to maintain economic credibility as well as the election promises not to raise employee national insurance contributions, income tax or VAT. A Treasury source noted: 'More than half of departments have settled [funding agreements] three weeks out from the spending review, which is pretty unusual and the fact you'd always expect negotiations to go on.'
Daily Mail
18 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
BORIS JOHNSON: Like an alcoholic reaching for the bottle, Labour are addicted to a greedy gulp of the old tax and spend - and they'll give us a hangover that will last for decades
Watching the Labour Government trying to manage the UK economy is like watching an alcoholic trying to deal with a lifetime of addiction. They know the bottle of whisky is there in the cupboard. It's called the old tax and spend. They know that they love the taste of it – the rush of that first glug – but they also know deep down that just unscrewing the cap of that bottle is going to be a disaster, for them and for their families.
The National
a day ago
- Business
- The National
Warning over ‘loophole' as Reform UK open crypto donations
It comes as Reform UK have announced they will begin accepting donations in cryptocurrency. Speaking at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas yesterday, leader Nigel Farage pledged that his party would 'launch in Britain a crypto revolution'. Party chairman Zia Yusuf, meanwhile, told reporters on Friday that Reform UK had already received its first cryptocurrency donations, adding they were all compliant with Electoral Commission rules. READ MORE: Labour Government plan to teach 'importance of UK military' in schools But anti-corruption organisation Transparency International has warned that the 'integrity of our democratic process' is at risk unless the UK Government brings in reforms. Cryptocurrency donations are allowed within current rules, as long as parties collect enough information to 'properly check that each donation is from a permissible source'. The EC website explains: 'Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that operate independently of any central bank or authority. 'The same rules apply to donations received in cryptocurrencies as any other donations. 'Sufficient information must be collected to check permissibility. There must be a means of valuing the donation given in any cryptocurrency.' Reform's website also currently contains a disclaimer on the top of the payment page which reads: 'Reform UK may accept a donation only from a permissible donor and where the identity of the donor is known. 'We ask you to provide information so that we can perform the required checks.' But Steve Goodrich, head of research and investigations at the anti-corruption organisation, told The National that cryptocurrencies still pose a 'serious challenge to UK political finance laws'. 'The anonymity offered by digital currencies makes it nearly impossible for political parties to have confidence in their donors' identities,' he said. 'Our current laws were designed to ensure transparency in political funding, but they were written before Bitcoin existed. Today, they appear increasingly outdated.' Goodrich added: "As cryptocurrency adoption grows, we face a widening loophole that could allow unlimited anonymous donations to flow into British politics. 'The government urgently needs to act and bring forward legislation to address both traditional big money influence and the emerging threat of digital donations. Without reform, the integrity of our democratic process remains at risk."
The National
a day ago
- Business
- The National
Warning over ‘loophole' as Reform UK opens crypto donations
It comes as Reform UK has announced it would begin accepting donations in cryptocurrency. Speaking at the Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas yesterday, leader Nigel Farage pledged that his party would 'launch in Britain a crypto revolution'. Party chairman Zia Yusuf, meanwhile, told reporters on Friday that Reform UK had already received its first cryptocurrency donations, adding they were all compliant with Electoral Commission rules. READ MORE: Labour Government plan to teach 'importance of UK military' in schools But anti-corruption organisation Transparency International has warned that the 'integrity of our democratic process' is at risk unless the UK Government brings in reforms. Cryptocurrency donations are allowed within current rules, as long as parties collect enough information to 'properly check that each donation is from a permissible source'. The EC website explains: 'Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that operate independently of any central bank or authority. 'The same rules apply to donations received in cryptocurrencies as any other donations. 'Sufficient information must be collected to check permissibility. There must be a means of valuing the donation given in any cryptocurrency.' Reform's website also currently contains a disclaimer on the top of the payment page which reads: 'Reform UK may accept a donation only from a permissible donor and where the identity of the donor is known. 'We ask you to provide information so that we can perform the required checks.' But Steve Goodrich, head of research and investigations at the anti-corruption organisation, told The National that cryptocurrencies still pose a 'serious challenge to UK political finance laws'. 'The anonymity offered by digital currencies makes it nearly impossible for political parties to have confidence in their donors' identities,' he said. 'Our current laws were designed to ensure transparency in political funding, but they were written before Bitcoin existed. Today, they appear increasingly outdated.' Goodrich added: "As cryptocurrency adoption grows, we face a widening loophole that could allow unlimited anonymous donations to flow into British politics. 'The government urgently needs to act and bring forward legislation to address both traditional big money influence and the emerging threat of digital donations. Without reform, the integrity of our democratic process remains at risk."
Telegraph
a day ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Rachel Reeves pensions power grab is worthy of a banana republic
Britain's economy badly needs a jump start. But after eight long punishing months, there is no sign of one. The Chancellor's latest idea is a decree on people's private pensions that is more in keeping with economic policy in Venezuela. It is looming disaster. As with other hardcore socialist regimes, this Labour Government believes you should not keep control of the money you earn. The message that has been coming out of No 10 Downing Street ever since Sir Keir Starmer moved in is that if you are a risk taker or wealth creator, Labour will come for your savings, your pensions, your job and your house. You name it, Keir Starmer will tax it. Many of the businesses who were duped into supporting Labour during Rachel Reeves's prawn cocktail offensive before the election must now be looking on in horror. As the 'City' minister in government, I was always clear that dictating how funds should be investing in people's private retirement savings was a red line. But it appears one this Government is all too happy to cross. And like other harebrained ideas, such as stripping millions of pensioners of the winter fuel payment, imposing death taxes on family farms or many other punitive measures, it has come out of the blue. It is not that pension reform is not needed. There are always improvements to be made, working with the City – not against it. But that is not what Rachel Reeves has done. Taking powers for the state to direct how your pension is invested is the most significant direct intervention by the Government in the UK pension and wider investment market for decades. And who is to say what a future iteration of Starmer's Government would do? Will pension funds be told they must put a certain proportion into 'Red Ed's' mad windmill schemes? We already see disinvestment campaigns picket town halls across a whole panoply of Left-wing causes. Handing the Chancellor the power to direct the whole country's pension funds at the stroke of a pen will make her an irresistible target for woke warriors of every kind. As someone who has worked in finance myself, I know, like many others with business experience, that most poor outcomes for pensions come from an excess of financial regulation, not from its absence. Pension funds will perform far worse when guided by Labour's political agenda, rather than solely the interests of savers. The invisible hand of the market will not be helped one jot by Keir Starmer's sticky fingers. The big issue on private pensions has traditionally been a defensive, risk averse culture, which has elevated low costs over performance and theoretical liquidity over real investment growth for the long-term. Our landmark Financial Services and Markets Act started to change this. Imposing growth duties on regulators, introducing new options such as long-term asset funds and freeing up over £100bn from UK insurers through a Brexit dividend supporting productive investments, such as infrastructure, were all steps in the right direction, which to be fair this Government has continued with. But Rachel Reeves now threatens to undermine that progress in one fell swoop. She is an embattled Chancellor, visibly out of her depth. As all of her chickens come home to roost, she is hemmed in by the growing distrust of the bond markets on one side and Cabinet and trade union advocates for more public sector largesse on the other. It is no surprise the trillions of private pension capital are increasingly attractive. In the process she is risking the futures of millions trying to save for their retirement and undermining Britain's global jewel of a fund management centre. Since taking office, Labour has gone out of its way to attack wealth creators and hard-working businesses. Their Employment Bill, which will do the opposite of what it says on the tin, puts a £5bn burden on businesses and drowns them in reams of red tape. New business rates will punish high streets and see more shops boarded up. And the Jobs Tax will drive down the wages of workers whilst penalising growth and aspiration. But that is people's private money, put in there over years of scrimping and saving. Not her money to control after maxing out the Government's credit card. The rapid exodus of millionaires under Labour is a sign that things are getting worse – these pension changes will only accelerate that flight. We need a government which sets out a positive vision for the country. One founded on greater risk appetite. One where entrepreneurs aren't afraid to fail and where investors are willing to responsibly back them to grow further when they succeed. The Conservatives are the natural home of business which can deliver that vision. After 14 years in government, perhaps this was too easily forgotten and there were certainly mistakes – though not of the pension stealing kind. But we are under new management. With other parties competing over ever higher spending, and Labour's unrelenting war on private enterprise, there is a gap in the market for sensible, centre-Right, economically credible policies.
