Sunak promises pensioners £100 income tax cut
“Rishi Sunak has pledged to cut income tax for eight million pensioners by £100 next year as he seeks to reassure them that he is “on their side”. The Conservatives froze the tax-free personal allowance at £12,570 until the end of the tax year 2027-28 to balance the books following the pandemic, a move which critics called a “stealth tax”. The prime minister has now pledged to increase the allowance for pensioners in line with the “triple lock” for the state pension, meaning that it will rise by whichever is highest of three measures: the annual rise in average earnings, the inflation rate or 2.5 per cent. The policy, which the Tories have billed the “triple lock plus”, will be worth an average of £100 next year and £275 by the end of the next parliament. Sunak said that it meant that the state pension would never be subject to income tax.” – The Times
- Prime Minister to unveil ‘quadruple lock’ that will keep income for elderly safe – Daily Telegraph
- Bid to stabilise election campaign with £2.4bn pensioner tax cut – FT
- Millions of OAPs promised £2,000 a year if Sunak wins election – The Sun
Laura Trott: How the Conservatives will protect pensioners from income tax penalty
“Because of the success of the triple lock, the state pension has risen by £3,700 since 2010 in cash terms, meaning pensioners are £900 better off every year than if it had just been uprated just by prices. But without change, next year pensioners would start paying income tax on their state pension alone. That isn’t right. That is why, from April next year, we will increase the personal allowance for pensioners, a tax cut worth around £100 for eight million pensioners. Better still, to make sure the state pension never crosses the income tax threshold, we will ensure personal tax allowance for pensioners rises by the triple lock in each year of the next Parliament. A new triple lock plus. Pensioners need security and peace of mind in retirement. This clear plan for pensioners, which is fully costed, will provide exactly that.” – Daily Telegraph
>Today: Matthew Brooker in Comment: The ‘Triple Lock Plus’ undoes all the Budget’s good work in making a Tory case to working-age voters
National service pledge was sprung on candidates, says Baker…
“The Conservative campaign pledge to introduce mandatory national service was dreamed up by advisers and sprung on candidates, a government minister has said. Criticism of the headline-grabbing policy has centred on claims it was not fully thought through before being announced, while ministers said just two days before the announcement that a return of national service was not on the cards. “It’s a Conservative party policy. The government’s policy was set out on Thursday,” said the government minister Steve Baker, referring to his colleague Andrew Murrison’s previous insistence there were “no current plans to reintroduce national service”… On Monday, the Foreign Office minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan refused to rule out the possibility of parents being fined if their adult children refused to take part.” – The Guardian
- Ministers bicker over national service plan – The Times
- Mercer ruled out idea four days before election announcement – Daily Telegraph
- Plan for teenagers branded ‘political suicide’ by party members – Daily Mail
More:
- Eye-catching announcement has lots of details still to be confirmed – The Times
- Parents could be fined if their 18-year-olds fail to do National Service – Daily Mail
- Labour slammed for wanting to give 16-year-olds the vote while ‘sneering’ at National Service – The Sun
Comment:
- National Service will give our teenagers resilience and skills they need – Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Daily Mail
- Labour’s foolish to rule out national service – William Hague, The Times
- A policy swamped by cynicism and incompetence – Stephen Bush, FT
- National Service lost Rishi Sunak the under-21 vote…and won him the over-40s vote – Clemmie Moodie, The Sun
>Today: Peter Franklin’s column: There are no excuses for this premature election
…as Sunak ‘insists he takes responsibility for the Conservatives’ election campaign’
“Rishi Sunak insisted he took responsibility for the Conservatives’ election campaign after a leaked memo criticised MPs for going on holiday and refusing to knock on doors. Staff at Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) accused MPs of focusing on ministerial responsibilities rather than the election effort. News of the leak emerged as Government minister Steve Baker defended going for a break in Greece rather than campaigning in his constituency. The memo, obtained by The Times, said a ‘key theme’ was that candidates had failed to ‘get behind’ the campaign after Mr Sunak surprised Westminster by calling a July 4 General Election. The document was accidentally emailed to MPs by a senior campaigning figure at CCHQ, the newspaper reported.” – Daily Mail
- Prime Minister grapples to control Tory party on chaotic fifth day of election campaign – The Guardian
- Struggle to get bitter MPs up for the fight – The Times
- Leaked Tory memo names and shames MPs shirking campaign duties – Daily Telegraph
- I won’t leave Britain if I lose election, vows Sunak – The Times
More:
- Sunak urged to bring back grammar schools in Tory manifesto – Daily Telegraph
- Labour lead over Conservatives may be overstated, says Tory election expert – The Guardian
- Tour map suggests defensive Tory election strategy – FT
- Prime Minister made five key pledges in 2023. How has he got on? – Daily Express
- US warns Sunak over censuring Iran at nuclear meeting – Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday:
Street rules out standing as Tory candidate
“Andy Street, the former Tory mayor of the West Midlands, has ruled out running as an MP in a blow to Rishi Sunak’s hopes of attracting high-profile candidates to fill vacant seats. Mr Street lost the mayoralty at the start of this month after losing to Labour’s Richard Parker by just 1,508 votes. The Conservatives were said to have needed to fill more than 150 seats at the start of this week amid a record exodus of Tory MPs. There had been speculation Mr Street would run for Parliament and last weekend, his spokesman said he was “considering” his options. But on Monday night, in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Street said: “I have always said that I never wanted to go into Westminster and that the job as mayor of the West Midlands was the right political role for me.”” – Daily Telegraph
May says Atkins is the future of the Tory Party
“Theresa May has praised Victoria Atkins, the health secretary, as the Conservative MP she is most excited about as she spoke of her hopes for a new generation of One Nation Conservatives. The former prime minister, who will leave parliament after the election, said that there were “a number of good MPs across the board” before being pressed into identifying Atkins as her hope for the future. She also told the Hay Festival that she was impressed with Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP who represents the constituency where her older sister Jo Cox was an MP before she was murdered in 2016. May said that Leadbeater was “an MP who genuinely gets this idea of service”. Atkins is a favourite of the One Nation wing of the party although it is unclear who would be jockeying for position as leader if the Conservatives lose the election.” – The Times
- She admits she should have met Grenfell survivors sooner and takes responsibility for Windrush scandal – Daily Mail
Reform 1) Allan quits the party in order to back Reform UK’s candidate
“Outgoing MP Lucy Allan tonight quit the Tories in order to support a Reform UK candidate to replace her in her Telford constituency. Ms Allan, who is standing down at the general election, endorsed Reform’s Alan Adams to succeed her in the Shropshire seat. Following her public declaration of support for Mr Adams, the Conservatives took immediate action and suspended Ms Allan from the party. But, in the latest blow to Rishi Sunak during a bumpy start to the PM’s general election campaign, she claimed she had already quit the Tories in order to back Mr Adams’ bid. Ms Allan claimed the Reform hopeful was ‘genuinely the best person for the job’ and warned against allowing the Labour candidate a ‘walkover’ in Telford.” – Daily Mail
- MP ‘quit before suspension for backing Reform’ – The Times
- Allan ‘a supporter of Truss’ – Daily Express
>Yesterday: Parliament: Allan suspended for backing Reform candidate in Telford
Reform 2) Farage challenges Sunak to immigration debate
“Nigel Farage has challenged Rishi Sunak to a live TV debate on immigration as he branded the small boats crisis a “national security emergency”. In an article for The Telegraph, the honorary president of Reform UK accused the Prime Minister of calling the snap election because he knew his plan to deport migrants to Rwanda “simply would not work”. Mr Farage says that if Mr Sunak refuses to debate him, it would prove that he “can’t stop the boats”. His comments come ahead of a major speech in Dover on Tuesday, which will be his first intervention in the campaign on behalf of Reform. He announced last week that he would not be standing as an MP for the party, but said he would instead appear around the country to boost support for the Right-wing party.” – Daily Telegraph
- Baker accuses ex-UKIP leader of ‘clear and intolerable bigotry’… – Daily Mail
- …but Trevelyan says some Muslims ‘want to challenge British values’ – The Guardian
Comment:
- I warned about illegal migration when it was a trickle; years of failure have turned it into a flood – Nigel Farage, Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday: Alexander Bowen’s column: A new deal on migration would be a perfect reset for UK-EU relations – and split Labour
Labour wins backing of 120 business leaders
“Labour has won the endorsement of a coalition of business leaders who have said that a “new outlook” is needed so the UK can “break free” from a decade of economic stagnation. In a letter to The Times, 120 executives say that the economy has been “beset by instability, stagnation and a lack of long-term focus” as they say the election represents “the chance to change the country”. The signatories, who include senior figures from the City, entrepreneurs, investors, high-profile figures from the world of technology and leading retailers, say change is needed “to achieve the UK’s full economic potential”. The letter is signed by past and present executives from JP Morgan, Heathrow, Aston Martin, JD Sports, Iceland and the advertising giant WPP.” – The Times
- Signatories to letter say Opposition has changed as they criticise Tories’ handling of the economy – FT
- Reeves will vow to lead most ‘pro-growth’ Treasury in history – The Guardian
Editorial:
- Business’ trust must be repaid with a promise not to saddle them with restrictive legislation – The Times
>Today: ToryDiary: Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
Starmer sets out to woo undecided Middle England as he claims he has ‘changed Labour permanently’…
“Keir Starmer made a major pitch to win over suspicious Middle England today as he vowed Labour can be trusted with the UK’s ‘money, borders and security’ at the next election. In his first major speech of the campaign the opposition leader waxed lyrical about ‘this England’ outside of his party’s typical urban strongholds. Speaking on the Sussex coast he referenced his own upbringing and the hardship his family faced growing up, saying they had their phone cut off when they decided it was the one bill they could live without paying. In a village hall in Lancing – a Tory seat – he said the transformed Labour Party is ready to meet the ‘core tests’ that voters set for government – ‘economic security, border security and national security’.” – Daily Mail
- Tories’ ‘Sir Sleepy’ attack is desperate, he says – The Times
- Labour urged to investigate candidate who liked offensive rant about Israel – The Sun
More:
- SNP trail Labour by five points in Scotland – Daily Mail
Sketch:
- Starmer sticks to what he knows: keeping politics boring – Patrick Kidd, The Times
…but he also insists he is ‘a socialist’
“Sir Keir Starmer has described himself as a socialist who “always puts the country first and party second”. Asked if he would use that word to describe himself, Sir Keir told the BBC: “Yes, I would describe myself as a socialist. I describe myself as a progressive. I’d describe myself as somebody who always puts the country first and party second.” Sir Keir, widely viewed as a centrist, joined the Labour Party Young Socialists in East Surrey when he was a teenager and helped found the radical magazine Socialist Alternatives after graduating from Leeds University… However, the Labour leader has since been accused of a purge of the Labour Left, including figures such as his Left-wing predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, who is now planning to run against his old party as an independent on July 4.” – Daily Telegraph
Comment:
- Starmer should rethink harmful private schools plan – Anthony Seldon, The Times
- A Labour victory is far from certain – David Blunkett, The Sun
Editorial:
- He is unprepared to tackle Britain’s mounting threats – The Sun
- The gap between Labour and the Tories should widen – The Guardian
Six years of rail reform has ‘achieved very little’, say MPs
“The UK government has “achieved very little” during six years of attempted railway reform, MPs have said, concluding that “no one is putting the needs of passengers and taxpayers first”. The House of Commons cross-party public accounts committee found that repeated promises of a “root and branch” overhaul of the rail system have been stymied by legislative delays and disagreements between government departments. MPs also said they had yet to see any evidence that plans for Great British Railways, a new public body intended to oversee services and infrastructure, would actually be any different to previous promises of reform over the past 20 years. “Meanwhile, no one is putting the needs of passengers and taxpayers first,” said the committee’s report…” – FT
- Bank Holiday travel chaos as rail network is crippled by cancelled trains – Daily Mail
>Today: Judy Terry in Local Government: Councils must work with other public services for better procurement
>Yesterday:
News in Brief:
- Tories race to find 160 candidates – James Heale, The Spectator
- Starmer’s next step – Sebastian Milbank, The Critic
- Does Starmer have anything to fear from the left? – Freddie Hayward, New Statesman
- The danger of trial by statistics – Tom Chivers, UnHerd
