4 h. ago Councillor claims Falkirk's 15.6% council tax rise could have been lower

Councillor Laura Murtagh says it feels like the main political parties are saying 'It's ma ba' and you're no playing!'

Politics

10 h. ago HMRC to write to 1 million people who are in for a stealthy tax ambush this year

The number of Brits who will be hit by the higher rate of income tax - which is currently 40% - is set to rise with the number of pensioners above state pension age

Economics

20 h. ago Starmer caves in to Labour rebels on welfare cuts with £2bn concessions sparking tax rise fears

Prime minister has offered major concessions on his controversial welfare bill after a tense day of talks with rebel Labour MPs, The Independent understands

Economics

24 h. ago Starmer expected to announce £2bn welfare concessions sparking tax rise fears

Prime minister in trouble as he tries to save bill from revolt by his own MPs

Economics

27 h. ago Tax rise warning as Starmer in talks on concessions with welfare cut rebels as he faces huge revolt

Economists warn tax rises could be needed to fund a U-Turn on Sir Keir Starmer’s £5bn welfare reforms as PM opens door to concessions

Events

63 h. ago Trump is angry with a world that won't give him easy deals | Rafael Behr

In the Middle East as in Ukraine, the president is discovering that simple bullying tricks don’t resolve complex international crisesIt was as close as Donald Trump might get to a lucid statement of his governing doctrine. “I may do it. I may not do it,” the president said to reporters on the White House lawn. “Nobody knows what I’m going to do.”The question was about joining Israeli air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Days later, US bombers were on their way. Some expected it to happen. Others, including Keir Starmer, had gone on record to say they didn’t. No one had known. The unpredictability doctrine wouldn’t have been violated either way.Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Starmer leaves door open for tax rises to fund rise in defence spending

IFS director Paul Johnson warned that the £30bn increase in defence spending would need to be funded by tax rises

Economics

4 d. ago Nato to unveil new 5% defence spending target this week, chief indicates

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is among the world leaders expected in The Hague in the Netherlands this week for the Nato summit.

Events

4 d. ago Electric bills for thousands of firms to be slashed under government plans

Keir Starmer is expected to launch the government's 10-year industrial strategy plan on Monday - with help for thousands of firms struggling with electricity bills

Politics

7 d. ago Londoners face council tax rises of more than 5% in £2bn funding shift benefiting North and Midlands

Leading economists warn suburban boroughs such as Kingston, Richmond, Bromley and Barnet could be hit hard, as well as Westminster and Wandsworth

Economics

7 d. ago Council tax bills 'set to rise in Southern England' under Labour plan to send more taxpayers' money to the North

Local Government Minister Jim McMahon this morning unveiled proposals to 'modernise' they system and send more than £2billion 'to the places and communities that need it most'.

Economics

7 d. ago Council tax bills could rise in richer areas to fund struggling authorities

New Labour plans look to provide more support to areas where demand is greater

Economics

9 d. ago Huge rise in unpaid council tax in Wales as thousands brought to court

They have more than trebled in a decade and has impacted council services

Events

1 week ago Vladimir Putin's Russian war machine to be hit by new UK sanctions

Keir Starmer is expected to announce the fresh package of sanctions as he appears at the G7 summit in Canada to ratchet up pressure on the Russian leader

Events

2 w. ago Rachel Reeves hit with headache after economy shrinks amid fresh fears of tax hikes

The Office for National Statistics said the UK economy shrank by 0.3% in April. Meanwhile, experts are warning that council tax bills will rise following Chancellor Rachel Reeves's spending review

Economics

2 w. ago Council tax bills set to rise at fastest rate for two decades, economist warns

Rachel Reeves said that ministers will not be ‘going above’ the 5% annual increases in council tax.

Events

2 w. ago Rachel Reeves seized her moment – whatever the future brings, Labour’s economic course is now set | Martin Kettle

The chancellor is no mere technocrat: her spending review revealed a visceral commitment to social and economic mobilityThe consensus has long been that the 2025 spending review would be a defining moment for Keir Starmer’s government. For once, the consensus proved spot-on. The government’s main priorities were set out on Wednesday in a blizzard of Commons announcements from Rachel Reeves, some economically substantive, others more for show. The upshot is that the shape of the British state, as Labour intends it, is now decided until the eve of the next election.There are further crossroads still to come, some of them major, as the years covered by the review unroll. Taxes are likely to rise, probably as soon as the autumn budget, to pay for Reeves’s big ticket boosts on Wednesday for defence, health and housing. Council tax could rise too, with possibly dramatic results. The review’s emphasis on capital spending means current spending could be squeezed again, perhaps heralding pay...

Economics

2 w. ago 'Bombshell' council tax rise warning over Rachel Reeves' police funding plans

Chancellor accused of ‘relying on a hidden council tax bombshell to fund a half-hearted rise in police funding’ as she outlines Spending Review

Events

2 w. ago Reeves unveils record spending plans but experts warn of tax rises ahead

Chancellor announces £39bn boost for social housing, £29bn for NHS and £11bn for defence – and promises to close all asylum hotels as she takes a swipe at Farage and dismisses Tory warnings of a ‘cruel summer’ of tax rise

Events

2 w. ago Council tax 'bombshell' warning over Chancellor's police funding plans

The government was accused of ‘relying on a hidden council tax bombshell to fund a half-hearted rise in police funding’

Events