Reeves’s Budget to be biggest tax raiser in history
“The Chancellor’s maiden Budget later this month will involve as much as £35 billion of tax rises – the most on record in cash terms – as she protects her commitment to ending “austerity” and attempts to ensure departments avoid real-terms cuts in spending. It comes amid growing speculation that proposals will include the first increase in fuel duty for 13 years, as well as a backlash from Cabinet members seeking to stave off spending reductions.” – Daily Telegraph
- Keir Starmer faces cabinet backlash over budget cuts – The Times
- Reeves expected to focus rise in capital gains tax on share sales – FT
- Labour’s poll tax: Business fury at Reeves’s plan to hike national insurance- as Chancellor STILL refuses to rule out raising employers’ contributions – Daily Mail
- Millionaire business owners urge Reeves to raise £14bn from capital gains tax – Guardian
- ‘Patriotic millionaires’ urge Reeves to raise taxes on the rich – Daily Telegraph
- Benefits uplift of £1.50 piles new Budget pressure on Reeves – The i
- How could Rachel Reeves raise £40bn in the autumn budget? – The Times
- Starmer and Reeves face down cabinet revolt over spending cuts – FT
- Don’t be fooled, Labour still don’t understand business – Cap X
COMMENT
Labour has let slip what we knew all along on winter fuel payments – Mel Stride Daily Express
Reeves’s web of lies can no longer conceal her dystopian plan for Britain – Alistair Heath Daily Telegraph
Rachel Reeves has backed herself into a corner on the Budget – Rupert Harrison The Spectator
Labour could be forced to reopen asylum hotels as migrant numbers surge
“Thousands of extra hotel beds for migrants are set to be hired in a major humiliation for the Labour government. The Home Office faces the prospect of splurging taxpayers’ money on additional accommodation amid rising levels of Channel small-boat arrivals. Some migrant hotels previously closed by the last Conservative government could be re-opened….It amounts to an embarrassing U-turn for Labour, whose election manifesto pledged to ‘end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions of pounds’. The Home Office declined to comment last night and has refused to give up-to-date figures on how many asylum seekers are in hotels.” – Daily Mail
- 60,000 illegal migrants will be allowed to stay in UK – The Times
- Starmer poised to grant more than 60,000 people asylum after scrapping Rwanda scheme – Daily Telegraph
- Almost 63,000 asylum seekers whose cases were held by Tory government could be given permission to remain by Labour – Daily Mail
- Asylum backlog lower since Rwanda plan scrapped, figures show – Guardian
- Keir Starmer blasted as shock new asylum figure prompts ‘open door’ warning – Daily Express
TODAY
With all eyes focussed on the Budget, the Home Secretary is quietly digging a black hole of her own
Taylor Swift seems the hottest ticket for Labour ministers including Peter Kyle
“The technology secretary declared a gift of two tickets worth £584. Downing Street also insisted there was no conflict of interest over Keir Starmer meeting the pop star at Wembley. Kyle joins Sir Keir Starmer in declaring they were given free tickets to the show, along with Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary; Wes Streeting, the health secretary; Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary; and Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury. Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, also attended but the tickets were gifted to her husband, Ed Balls, the former chancellor.” – The Times
- Labour peer declares taking freebies should be a crime in the wake of Taylorgate scandal – Daily Mail
- More ministers declare gifts after Keir Starmer’s decision to repay £6,000 – Guardian
- Labour embroiled in new cronyism row over appointment of over 200 civil servants bypassing usual hiring process since election – Daily Mail
COMMENT
Labour have easily outdone Tories for cronyism and freebies in 3 months – what the hell were we all thinking on July 4? – Rod Liddle The Sun
Labour’s promise to end cronyism has backfired spectacularly – Tom Harris Daily Telegraph
Labour’s media strategy is in disarray – Mark Wallace The i
Soporific Starmer – Rob Hutton The Critic
Kemi Badenoch: I would give JK Rowling a peerage
“The Tory leadership candidate says ‘all sorts of oddballs and bad people’ are attacking sex-based rights activists. Badenoch praised the Harry Potter author, given their shared belief that protections for women should be based on sex instead of self-identified gender. Asked if she would give Rowling a seat in the House of Lords, Badenoch said in an interview with Talk TV: “I would. I don’t know whether she would take it, but I certainly would give her a peerage.” The Tory leadership hopeful went on to praise Baroness Cass, saying that she “managed to get” the paediatrician a peerage following her review into children’s gender services. – The Times
- Starmer would lose majority if Jenrick were Tory leader, poll shows – Daily Telegraph
- No drama, no excuses – we need a Conservative Party that delivers – Rob Jenrick CapX
- Plans for Tory leadership debate on BBC collapse – Daily Telegraph
Russia suspected of ‘planting device’ on UK plane sparking fire as investigation launched
“Russian spies are feared to have planted a device on a plane that sparked a fire in a British warehouse. Counter-terrorism police are investigating a blaze at a DHL warehouse in Birmingham amid fears of a growing number of Kremlin-sponsored sabotage plots.Nobody was injured in the fire, in July, before it was put out. But a similar incident in Leipzig, Germany, has sparked fears it is part of a wider Russian campaign to carry out arson and sabotage plots in Europe.” – Daily Express
- North Korean troops set to join Russian army as Pyongyang ‘fully enters’ war – Daily Telegraph
- UK could take part in joint EU defence missions as part of Brexit reset – The i
- EU’s weak or distracted governments make unity of purpose hard to achieve – Guardian
- The danger of copying China: Public-Private collusion undermines democracy – Unherd
TODAY
Moldova has a defining choice it’s Soviet past or a European future? – Lord Ashcroft
COMMENT
Sir Keir has landed his Foreign Secretary in Caribbean quicksand by ruling out slave reparations – Ephraim Hardcastle Daily Mail
Lightweight David Lammy looks out of his depth – Roger Boyes The Times
NEWS IN BRIEF
Is David Lammy the man to stand up to China? – CapX
The slippery slope of assisted dying – Spectator
“Scottish visas” would double down on two failed ideas – The Critic
Labour is in denial about knife crime It ignores the causes of urban warfare – Unherd
