24 h. ago Keir Starmer ‘plans rise in inheritance tax’ to ease debt crisis

Critics see inheritance tax, charged on estates valued at more than £325,000, as being a wealth tax in all but name

Economics

62 h. ago Palestine Action ban ‘could become Starmer’s poll tax moment’ as freedom of speech row deepens

Baroness Chakrabarti said the proscription of the group risks exacerbating community tensions and campaigners warned the ban was a threat to freedom of speech

Politics

3 d. ago Lily Phillips: Crying review – laughing through the toxic positivity around childbirth

Monkey Barrel, EdinburghAmusing vignettes about arrogant consultants and undignified poos keep things light as Phillips documents a harrowing hospital experienceExpectations and reality don’t always align when it comes to childbirth. Lily Phillips (not that one, she assures us, getting good mileage from her porn star namesake) thought she was well informed. She’d gone through a long process of IVF to get there, attended NCT classes, and, when labour started, she was ready for the if not serene then empowering birthing experience and magical moment of immediate love that would follow.Instead, she discovered that “birth is barbaric and early motherhood is brutal”. Yet even her NCT WhatsApp group, where she turned after a harrowing hospital experience, requested “no negative birth stories, please”. Crying does a lot to redress the balance and cuts through the “toxic positivity” surrounding childbirth that left Phillips feeling alone. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Voices: ‘The fairest way’ or a ‘political disaster’? Readers split on whether Reeves should raise income tax

Our community is split over whether raising income tax is the fairest way to plug Britain’s £50bn budget gap or a risky move that could harm growth and Labour’s political standing

Politics

6 d. ago Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves 'lay the ground for massive tax hikes' with Chancellor 'needing to fill £50billion hole' at grim Budget

Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are said to have started holding meetings on how to fill a black hole in the public finances estimated at up to £50billion.

Economics

6 d. ago ALEX BRUMMER: This does nothing to fix our chronic welfare addiction

The reality is that Prime Minister Keir Starmer's tax-and-spend agenda and the greed of disruptive unions in the public sector are gutting the British economy.

Politics

7 d. ago Starmer opens door to income tax rise in autumn Budget as pressure to fill £50bn hole mounts

Labour prime minister pledged that plans to be set out in the autumn would make ‘sure people feel better off’

Economics

7 d. ago Keir Starmer REFUSES to rule out tax hikes in the Budget after economists warn Labour is facing a huge £50bn black hole in public finances

The Prime Minister said he didn't recognise 'some of the figures that are being put out' amid suggestions that Rachel Reeves is on track to miss one of her fiscal rules.

Economics

7 d. ago Starmer refuses to rule out tax rises in autumn as he faces growing pressure to fill £50bn budget black hole

Labour prime pledged that plans to be set out in the autumn would make ‘sure people feel better off’

Economics

7 d. ago Sir Keir Starmer declines to rule out tax rises as he defends handling of economy

It comes after warnings that taxes may need to rise to plug a £51 billion black hole in public finances

Economics

7 d. ago Keir Starmer kicks back at dire tax rise warning as experts find '£41billion black hole'

Keir Starmer says he 'does not recognise' figures from think-tank the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), which suggested Rachel Reeves needs to raise billions in extra taxes in the Budget

Economics

7 d. ago Starmer defends handling of economy but declines to rule out tax hikes

The Prime Minister said Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ upcoming budget will ‘build on what we’ve done’ by focusing on ‘living standards’.

Economics

8 d. ago Keir Starmer urged to give tourist tax powers to local leaders to boost public services

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has previously called for a mandatory 'tourist levy' for those visiting the city with Edinburgh already set to introduce a charge

Politics

3 w. ago Crypto donations could entirely corrupt British politics. Labour must act quickly | Liam Byrne

We need to know who is funding our parties, but this new frontier is custom-built for hostile actors. The elections bill is a good start – but only thatLiam Byrne is the Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge HillOur party finance rules are riddled with loopholes. Shell companies. Unincorporated associations. Anonymous donations routed through digital campaigns between elections. All legal. All ripe for abuse. And now, a new gateway has opened: cryptocurrency.When someone buys a cryptocurrency their identity is anonymous, but the transaction itself is recorded on the blockchain and is publicly visible. So far we know that this anonymity has allowed cryptocurrencies to be used to fund everything from sanctions evasion to election interference. A recent report from the Centre for Information Resilience revealed that A7A5, a new “digital rouble”, has already been linked to sanctions evasions by Russians. The report also found that Ilan Shor, a fugitive oligarch who has been accused of being in...

Politics

4 w. ago Rather be on holiday already? Starmer is flanked by glum ministers at last PMQs before summer break as he dodges on fears of MORE tax hikes

Flanked by glum ministers including Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner, Keir Starmer was pressed to spell out who will be protected from efforts to fill an estimated £30billion hole in the public finances.

Politics

4 w. ago Labour ‘only just getting started’ says Starmer as he faces ‘tax raid’ questions

The Prime Minister told the Commons that Labour MPs will ‘happily’ face their constituents during the summer recess, which begins next week.

Politics

4 w. ago Thousands offered UK asylum in secret scheme after personal data of Afghans who helped British forces leaked by mistake – live

Dataset containing details of thousands of Afghans who applied for relocation to UK released ‘in error’ in 2022Helen Miller is taking over as director of the Insitute for Fiscal Studies thinktank this week, taking over from Paul Johnson, who established himself as the nation’s leading budget commentator.Budget commentary tends to focus on the Treasury’s fiscal rules, on how much “headroom” is available to Rachel Reeves (spare cash in the budget – based on spending plans and anticipated tax revenue, based on the OBR’s growth assumptions), and whether tax or spending plans need to change because the OBR’s forecasts have shifted.Labour came to office with the promise of a ‘mission-driven’ government – a commitment to long-term thinking and systemic reform. The ambition that we should be ‘raising our sights as a nation’ and finding ways to tackle the big challenges we face is the right one.Despite this, we continue to limp from fiscal event to fiscal event, obsessed with whether run of ...

Society

4 w. ago Labour slides further behind Reform in poll after disastrous spell for Keir Starmer with fears Brits are about to be hammered by tax hikes

The gap has widened again as speculation grows that Rachel Reeves will use the Budget to increase taxes for millions of Britons.

Events