Latest news with #NigelLawson
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
STEPHEN POLLARD: Labour's created an atmosphere where the hard working middle class are now fair game for bigotry
That an eight-year-old can be refused healthcare on the NHS because of the school he attends is deeply troubling. It shows that the service once described by Margaret Thatcher 's Chancellor Nigel Lawson as 'the closest thing the English people have to a religion,' has become a battleground for class war where children seeking treatment are seen as the enemy of the proletariat. That includes my children. I am lucky enough to be able to pay for them to attend private schools. I pay the fees on top of my taxes, of course. Now it seems the NHS regards my kids as non-citizens to be shunned.
Telegraph
08-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Isas made me a millionaire – but they are ripe for reform
For private investors like myself, 1987 was a memorable year. Nigel Lawson, then-chancellor, introduced Peps (Personal Equity Plans), changing investing across the country. The precursor to Isas, I immediately recognised the great advantages of this wrapper, free of income and capital gains taxes. However, in those early days there were very few plan Pep managers, and those that were managing plans generally restricted holdings to shares on their approved list – this was particularly unattractive to me as I have always selected my stocks. Eventually I alighted upon Midland Bank Executor and Trustee, based in Sheffield, and I took out a Pep with them. The annual amount one could invest was initially limited to £2,700, and thus I made my first investment in Manchester electrical manufacturer and wholesaler Pifco. It ticked all the boxes for me – family controlled, conservatively stewarded, cash rich, on a low price-to-earnings ratio, plus a 6pc dividend yield. For the next few years I put the maximum allowance I could into Pifco, re-investing dividends, building up a decent-sized holding. Finally, they were taken over by US appliance company Salton, delivering a very nice tax-free profit. In those early years, few wealthy investors bothered with Peps – I think they felt the amount they could invest was not really worth the trouble, but for me as a young parliamentarian on a limited salary, the annual investment was just about achievable. Over the years the annual allowance grew, and then in 1999 Gordon Brown introduced Isas, which were, to all intents and purposes, the same as Peps but with a new name. Fortunately, I made more correct investment calls, but these were of course accompanied by a wealth of mistakes – Dawson Holdings, HMV, Litho and William Sinclair, for a start. During this period my Isa rose in value, boosted not only by dividend reinvestment but by a number of takeovers like Air Partner, BBA Aviation, Daejan, Fenner, Gibbs & Dandy, Tarsus, Trafford Park Estates, Wintrust – and the aforementioned Pifco. In total, I have benefitted from approximately 30 takeovers and take privates. It was in 2003 that I was judged to be the first Isa millionaire, a feat achieved having invested a total of £126,000 over the preceding 17 years. Entering the House of Lords in 2006 gave me the platform to raise issues, including those relating to the stock market. In particular I think it would be fair to say that I led the campaign to allow Aim shares to be held within Isas. Successive Treasury ministers, both Labour and Conservative, like Lord Myners and Lord Sassoon, defended the blocking negative Treasury line. In January 2010 I posited: 'Surely an Isa investor should be allowed to choose whether they invest in main market companies or those on Aim? Is it not a nonsense that an Isa investor can buy an overseas stock such as Kraft, or invest in shares quoted on the Channel Islands Stock Exchange, yet be barred from the 1,000-plus smaller growth UK companies on Aim, which would appreciate Isa eligibility from a capital raising point of view?' Finally, in 2013, success. Under the Conservative government Aim shares were deemed eligible. Today I hold a number of excellent Aim stocks in my Isa, including Anpario, Christie, Cerillion, Concurrent Technologies and Vianet. One further useful Isa benefit was introduced by George Osborne, allowing an Isa portfolio to be transferred on the death of a husband or wife to the surviving spouse. There is no doubt that Peps, and in turn Isas, have been a huge success, boosting savings and stock market investment. Many foreigners are very jealous of our Isa! So, what of the future? I have a number of observations and suggestions. Firstly, I believe the annual limit of £20,000 for both husband and for wife is generous given the country's financial situation. Secondly, I believe all future Isas should be limited to UK quoted companies – of course, if people want to invest overseas that is their choice but why should we give them precious tax relief to do so? To be clear, I am not advocating for those who already have overseas holdings in their Isas to be forced to divest. This would be retrospectively unfair and administratively messy. Thirdly, on cash Isas, currently the subject of much debate, I believe they do have a role in encouraging savings, particularly for those with more modest means. However, given that we want and need to encourage more stock market investment, my view is that the annual allowance for the cash Isa should only be half of that allowed for equity Isas. Finally, to encourage my grandchildren I have taken out a Junior Isa for two of them, through their parents. (I think it ridiculous not to allow grandparents to directly take out Isas for grandchildren and would like a change in regulation here, too.) To keep it simple for the grandchildren we bought shares in companies that they could identify with, including Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury, Greggs, Hollywood Bowl, JD Sports and Tesco. They now understand and appreciate that they own a very, very small slice of these businesses. All part of their education process – I can but hope that in years to come they will follow Grandpa and become serious Isa investors themselves.
The Guardian
03-03-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Don't cut cash Isas – they're our refuge in an uncertain world
There are good reasons why cash Isa holders like me don't want to convert to share-based investments (Cash Isas: pressure grows against rumoured move to £4,000 allowance, 1 March). We don't trust the City or governments. After Margaret Thatcher and Nigel Lawson's deregulation of the City in 1986, people were encouraged to become part of the 'shareholder democracy'. This worked until it didn't. In 1990, the splurge of loose cash and cheap shares duly went pop. In the end people will decide for themselves. It's all very well investment firms telling us that a share instrument will perform better than cash over a period – but what period? Suppose great volatility arrives out of nowhere – where economic cycles are so short that they are measured in the lifetime of a lettuce. The bankers were back taking their bonuses long ago, and are now asking the chancellor to allow them to hold less capital. Ordinary savers are investing in cash Isas, and with the international situation so uncertain, who can blame them for going 'safety first'?David RedshawSaltdean, East Sussex Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
