Budget 1) Business warns Reeves of ‘perfect storm’
“Business leaders have warned they face a “perfect storm” in the budget as they are hit by more taxes, higher wage bills and the cost of implementing Labour’s overhaul of workers’ rights. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, will announce plans to increase employers’ national insurance contributions, which could raise up to £20 billion to fund investment in public services. She will also confirm a rise in the minimum wage of at least 6.7 per cent from April for more than three million workers, pushing up costs for companies. Reeves will present her budget on Wednesday as a blueprint to grow the economy and create “wealth and opportunity for all” as she changes the fiscal rules to free up tens of billions of pounds for investment in roads, rail and infrastructure.” – The Times
- The Chancellor is to promise ‘wealth and opportunity for all’ in major tax-raising Budget – The Guardian
- UK borrowing costs hit post-election high on eve of Reeves’s first Budget – The Financial Times
- Live Blog: Reeves to announce up to £35 billion in tax hikes – The Times
- Live Blog: She is urged to ‘boost confidence’ as growth stalls – The Daily Telegraph
- Five key charts: what will underpin the 2024 statement by Reeves – The Guardian
- What could Reeves announce? – The Times
- The tax raids looming in Reeves’s Budget today – The Daily Telegraph
- From capital gains to NICs: tax changes to look out for in autumn 2024 Budget – The Guardian
- Public to be hit with significant tax rises in Budget, experts warn – The I
- What are bonds and gilts? The market explained – The Times
- UK’s rising fiscal burden narrows tax gap with Europe – The Financial Times
- Cost of a pint and a meal out could rise to pay for Budget tax hikes, Reeves warned – The I
- ‘Labour has put the fear of God in everyone’: the pensioners dreading Reeves’s Budget – The Daily Telegraph
- Why older people feel abandoned ahead of the Budget – The I
- Investors pull £300 million from stocks in race to beat inheritance tax raid – The Daily Telegraph
- Reeves adviser ‘fixed meetings with ministers for Shein chief’ – The Times
Editorial and Comment:
- The Chancellor must ensure today’s Budget isn’t the most damaging in years regardless of her desperation for funds – Editorial, The Sun
- Labour’s Budget con trick – Kemi Badenoch, The Daily Telegraph
- Ending the £2 cap on bus fares hurts working people – Andrew Gilligan, The Times
- Among Tory ghosts and Labour ghouls, Reeves is a fright night all to herself – Tim Stanley, The Daily Telegraph
- Talk of leaks, caps, and holes spins heads like washing machines – Tom Peck, The Times
- Reeves did much forced smiling like someone who has just swallowed a dicky kipper – Quentin Letts, The Daily Mail
- Starmer is letting broke Europe be Britain’s guide – Jeremy Warner, The Daily Telegraph
- Labour doesn’t know who ‘its people’ are – Stephen Bush, The Financial Times
- Tomorrow’s Budget will take us back to the 70s – and we know where that ended – Philip Johnston, The Daily Telegraph
>Today:
>Yesterday:
Budget 2) She replaces portrait of Lawson with Communist Party co-founder
“Rachel Reeves has replaced a portrait of Margaret Thatcher’s chancellor with a picture of one of the founding members of the Communist Party of Great Britain. On the eve of the Government’s first Budget, the Treasury released a photograph of the Chancellor in her office in No 11 in front of a new portrait of Ellen Wilkinson, a former Labour education minister. Ms Wilkinson was one of the founding members of the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1920 before becoming a Labour MP. Photographs of Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak at the same desk in Downing Street show that a photograph of Nigel Lawson was previously hanging on the wall… Lord Lawson was chancellor between 1983 and 1989, stepping down as an MP in 1992 and joining the House of Lords.” – The Daily Telegraph
- The Chancellor calls herself a ‘social democrat’ – The Times
Budget 3) She is to boost defence spending by £3 billion
“Rachel Reeves will announce a £3 billion boost for defence spending in the budget but will not commit herself to a timeline for hitting the target of 2.5 per cent of GDP. The chancellor will announce additional funding to ease immediate pressures in 2025-26, but there are still significant concerns about cuts to major military projects in the future. Sir Keir Starmer has said that Labour wants to increase defence spending from 2.3 per cent to 2.5 per cent of GDP but has not set a date to achieve this. The prime minister is expected to wait for the outcome of the defence review, which is expected early next year. Defence ministers are understood to have been disheartened by the state of the armed forces when they entered government.” – The Times
- Decision will end fears that defence will bear brunt of ‘difficult decisions’ Reeves says are needed to fix public finances – The Daily Telegraph
Budget 4) She hands young workers ‘£2,500 pay rise’ despite warnings from business
“Rachel Reeves has given young workers a record £2,500 pay rise, despite warnings from businesses that the move will harm Britain’s competitiveness. The Chancellor has approved a 16 per cent increase in the minimum wage for 18 to 20-year-olds, taking it to £10 an hour. She has also signed off a 6.7 per cent increase to the National Living Wage, earned by all over-20s, meaning they will pocket £1,400 more. Business leaders warned that the move would undermine competitiveness and force firms to cut investment. Under the changes, 18 to 20-year-olds on the National Minimum Wage will see their pay rise from £8.60 to £10 an hour from April. The 16 per cent rise is the start of Ms Reeves’ longer-term plan to move younger workers onto the same level of pay as their elders.” – The Daily Telegraph
Budget 5) Home Office won’t be allowed to raid aid budget for asylum hotels
“Rachel Reeves’ Budget will contain measures to ensure the Home Office can no longer routinely raid Britain’s aid budget to pay for hotels for Channel small boat asylum seekers, i has learnt. The Chancellor’s fiscal statement on Wednesday is set to include a review mechanism to ensure the overseas development aid (ODA) budget is better protected from overspending on asylum, a Government source told i. Reeves may also move to recategorise asylum spending so it is treated as annual managed expenditure – along the lines of unpredictable costs such as the benefits bill or debt interest repayments – rather than being included in the Home Office’s pre-set departmental spending limit… A growing amount of UK aid has been spent on asylum seekers and refugees based in the UK…” – The I
Starmer condemns ‘gravely concerning’ UNRWA ban as Israel faces international backlash
“Sir Keir Starmer has said he is “gravely concerned” over Israel’s decision to ban the main Palestinian aid agency from the country amid an international outcry over the move. The Prime Minister joined the backlash from Israel’s closest Western allies after the country’s parliament voted for two bills to prevent the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from working within its territory. His fears of Israel “jeopardising” aid to Gaza came after the United States warned of a looming humanitarian “catastrophe” and said that children could starve to death. The UNRWA was created in 1949 to help displaced Palestinians following the war between Arab nations and the newly established state of Israel. The agency now receives a budget of more than £1.12 billion…” – The Daily Telegraph
- UK and other countries are ‘actively’ helping Hamas by funding UNRWA, Israel says – The I
- Aid must be given to innocent Gazans, but this ban was the right decision – David Patrikarakos, The Daily Mail
Streeting says he changed his mind on assisted dying over the UK’s poor palliative care
“Wes Streeting has revealed he has changed his mind about assisted dying because the state of NHS palliative care is so poor. The Health Secretary told Labour MPs at a meeting of the parliamentary party last week that he will vote against the Bill to legalise assisted dying. Mr Streeting previously voted to legalise assisted dying in 2015, but has since reversed his stance ahead of next month’s landmark vote and will not back a law change… Ministers were warned by the Cabinet Secretary not to share their views at the dispatch box or in the media. He also insisted he had not intended to “wade into the debate” but had instead given an “honest answer” to the question… Mr Streeting is now the second member of the Cabinet to explicitly state that he will vote against the legislation…” – The Daily Telegraph
- End-of-life care to be ‘stripped back’ if NHS can’t fund hospices hit by tax hike – The I
- Rantzen is completely wrong about Streeting – Ann Widdecombe, Daily Express
Conservatives 1) Tories accuse police of Southport ‘cover-up’
“The two Conservative leadership candidates have accused police and the government of withholding information about the Southport attack suspect amid claims of a cover-up. Downing Street denied the allegations after Robert Jenrick demanded an explanation as to why “facts may have been withheld from the public”, after Axel Rudakubana, 18, was charged with producing the poison ricin and a terrorism offence. Kemi Badenoch echoed Jenrick’s remarks, saying that it was “quite clear that there are serious questions to be asked of the police, the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] and also of Keir Starmer’s response to the whole situation”. On Tuesday, Merseyside police announced that Rudakubana…had been charged with two additional but separate offences.” – The Times
- Southport ‘attacker’ charged with having al-Qaeda manual and making ricin – The Daily Telegraph
- Three months after the Southport stabbing, separate terrorism claims emerge – The Times
- Starmer, police, and CPS face questions over new Southport suspect details – Daily Express
- The best policy for public order is transparency – Editorial, The Daily Mail
- We deserve to know the full truth about the Southport massacre – Allison Pearson, The Daily Telegraph
- It’s the truth that matters most – the authorities can’t allow rumours to fill a vacuum like in Southport – Sarah Vine, The Daily Mail
>Today:
Conservatives 2) Entire Tory Cabinet knew the Rwanda Bill would not work, Jenrick claims
“Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet, in its entirety, knew that the Rwanda Bill would not work, Robert Jenrick has claimed. The Tory leadership hopeful said on Tuesday night that every minister “turned a blind eye” to weaknesses in the Bill, which was intended to deport asylum seekers to the east African country. No one was ever deported under the scheme apart from four migrants who went to Rwanda voluntarily. Mr Jenrick resigned as immigration minister in December last year because measures he had proposed to strengthen the Bill were rejected by Mr Sunak… Mr Jenrick was then asked to clarify whether everyone in the Cabinet, which included Mr Sunak and then-home secretary James Cleverly, believed it would fail.” – The Daily Telegraph
- Badenoch’s vision for growth dates from 1688 – Daniel Finkelstein, The Times
- She is the bold and fearless leader the Conservative Party needs right now – David T C Davies, Daily Express
- I’m voting for Badenoch because she’ll give Starmer hell – Allison Pearson, The Daily Telegraph
Conservatives 3) Ex-British colonies should be grateful for the Empire, he says
“Ex-British colonies should be “grateful” for the Empire, Robert Jenrick said today. The Tory leadership finalist declared that states formerly controlled by the UK should stop demanding slavery reparations. He insisted that world leaders instead owe a “debt of gratitude” to the UK for the legacies of Empire. Mr Jenrick pointed to legal institutions and democracy as examples of colonial “achievements”…he said: “The territories colonised by our empire were not advanced democracies. Many had been cruel, slave-trading powers. Some had never been independent. The British empire broke the long chain of violent tyranny as we came to introduce – gradually and imperfectly – Christian values.”… The ramped up rhetoric comes as…Conservatives have just four days left to vote…” – The Sun
- Jenrick ha shown he’s a man of integrity – now let him lead the Tory Party – Bill Cash, Daily Express
Conservatives 4) Former Tory MP ‘groped woman at Parliament in abuse of power’
“A former Tory MP has been accused of abusing his position of power after a report found he inappropriately touched a young parliamentary worker. The report by the Independent Expert Panel, which considers cases of misconduct referred to it by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, said Aaron Bell had “touched the complainant on her left thigh, waist and bottom inappropriately and without her consent”. The incident, which was said to have taken place in Strangers Bar in Parliament in December 2023, was reported to the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS) hotline in February 2024. At the time of the incident, Aaron Bell, who served as MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, was an assistant government whip…” – The I
- Bell was a government whip at the time of drunken sexual misconduct that he claimed was mutual flirting – The Times
Yousaf issues apology after branding top Scottish lawyer a ‘Tory f—wit’
“Humza Yousaf called one of Scotland’s most senior lawyers a “Tory f—wit”, his WhatsApp messages reveal. The former first minister apologised for the language he used to describe Roddy Dunlop KC, who is dean of the Faculty of Advocates. The message was unearthed in a tranche of WhatsApp messages sent during the pandemic obtained by a member of the public in response to a Freedom of Information request. They include exchanges between Mr Yousaf and Jason Leitch, who was the Scottish Government’s national clinical director until earlier this year, which have not previously been made public… The reason for the attack is not clear in the documents due to redactions, but earlier that day Mr Dunlop had been critical of comments made by Mr Leitch to the BBC.” – The Daily Telegraph
