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Rishi Sunak and his chancellor Jeremy Hunt have been accused of protecting the super-rich from paying their fair share of tax by refusing to abolish the non-dom loophole. The chancellor insisted on Friday that it would be a “mistake” to end the controversial deal for those who live in the UK but pay no tax on their offshore income and disputed claims that doing so could raise £3bn every year – arguing that “They would rather stay here and spend their money here” than move abroad. Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the government of “going after workers” with tax rises while doing “nothing about non-domiciled status”, telling broadcasters during a visit to Swindon: “The super rich don’t pay their taxes on it. Country.” Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Pat McFadden said the Conservatives were refusing to “make fairer choices”, adding: “They continue to protect non-domiciles from paying their fair share of tax in Britain, leaving billions on the table.”
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Voices | Part of the “twisted waist”? There are ways you can save money
Writing for Independent Voices, chief executive of consumer group Fairer Finance, James Daley, suggests that “for those who are not disadvantaged – there is much that can be done to [funds] you have to go further and try to earn a little more.” He writes: “Making the right decisions with your mortgage, energy bills, insurance, broadband and mobile phone bills can make a huge difference to your monthly outgoings.” “… Looking at every pound of other spending you do each month is also a good exercise. You might discover there are subscriptions you forgot about – or realize how much you can save each month by making your own meals or cycling to work. And if you’ve been at your job for a while, it’s not a bad time to see if you can get a raise by moving elsewhere. One of the oddities of our current economic situation is that even though we are in a recession, unemployment is at historic lows because of the labor shortage.” Andy Gregory18 November 2022 18:45 1668795806
Sunak “will limit ministers’ morning media appearances”
Rishi Sunak looks set to reduce the number of government ministers’ on-air appearances, with plans reported to end the current practice of frontbenchers taking questions on TV and radio every morning. The move was first reported by the Daily Mirror, which said the government will provide a minister to be interviewed around three mornings each week, with a focus rather than appearing when there is an “announcement”. The daily broadcast round usually sees a minister appear on BBC Breakfast, Good Morning Britain, BBC Radio 4’s Today program and other media to answer questions and defend the government each weekday morning. It is understood that Downing Street will take a “flexible” approach to the appearances, with sources rejecting the view that the move amounts to an axing of the broadcasting round. Dominic McGrath18 November 2022 18:23 1668794557
The Backbencher’s bill clears the Commons in a single sitting for the first time since 1998
A proposed law change has cleared the House of Commons in a single sitting for the first time in more than 20 years – instead of taking just “three minutes and 11 seconds”, according to the deputy speaker. Former Tory minister Sir Christopher Chope’s Mobile Homes (Pitch Fees) Bill received a series of short readings without opposition in a single sitting of the Commons. The private member’s bill seeks to reform the way mobile home placement charges are calculated. It would change the way promotion fee reviews rise in line with inflation to lower costs for mobile home owners, switching from the Retail Price Index to the Consumer Price Index. All bills introduced in parliament are usually scrutinized at various stages in the Commons over the course of a year. But Sir Christopher’s bill passed through all its stages unopposed in one sitting, with the deputy speaker of the Commons, Dame Eleanor Laing, remarking on its remarkably short run. Agreeing with a remark by Sir Christopher that it was the first time since 1998 that a private member’s bill had gone through all its stages in one sitting, Dame Eleanor added, to laughter from MPs: “A lot of remarkable legislation seemed to have the support all members [MPs] except one. “It is noteworthy that this particular bill is brought by the member himself and therefore its value has exceeded its procedural status. Interesting and remarkable.” Andy Gregory18 November 2022 18:02 1668793237
John Redoul | If the autumn statement got bad press, does that mean it was good?
Focusing on the reaction to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement yesterday, chief political commentator John Rentoul asks whether the quality of a Budget can be inversely related to its initial media reception. He points to a remark by the political scientist Professor Philip Cowley, who suggested today – in what he described as “kind of a joke and kind of not” – that “the usual rule with Budgets is that the ones that are immediately praised by the media turn out to be disasters”, adding: “On that basis, and having seen today’s headlines, yesterday was sheer genius.” For his part, John writes: “What is striking about the coverage of the Hunt statement is the absence of any credible alternative policy that the government should pursue. Nobody likes higher taxes, but the opposite policy was just tested in a real-life experiment that blew up the chemistry lab. When historians look back on the Autumn 2022 statement, they are likely to see it as a necessary first step in coming to terms with some rather larger problems than a nation facing a temporary, if steep, decline in living standards. But I doubt if it will be hailed as a work of genius.’ Andy Gregory November 18, 2022 5:40 pm 1668791977
Tory MPs are calling for tenants to be allowed to keep pets
Conservative MPs have urged the government to allow tenants to keep pets in their homes, during a debate around a private member’s bill aimed at creating more regulation of supported housing aimed at vulnerable people. Vets and Conservative MP Dr Neil Hudson stressed that keeping animals is important to help people with their mental health, telling the Commons: “I know as a dog owner myself, I know the impact animals have on people’s life, the importance of people having animals in accommodation. “I know I’ve worked with ministers on various types of legislation that we want to enable people in the rental sector to be able to have pets in their accommodation. “If you’re a responsible pet owner, you should be allowed to have a pet there to give you that companionship to help your mental health, to help that animal’s health, and that’s something I think we can move on as well. .” The government has considered giving tenants more rights to keep pets in recent years, with ministers setting out plans to allow tenants to challenge their landlords if they refuse a request to keep a pet in a June white paper title “A Fairer Private Rented Sector”. . Andy Gregory 18 November 2022 17:19 1668791137
Martin Lewis reveals three hours to avoid using the washing machine
Martin Lewis has advised people not to use their washing machines at certain times to avoid the possibility of a power cut, after the National Grid warned there could be blackouts on “really, really cold” winter days. That could happen if energy supplies from Europe prove insufficient due to the disruption of the war in Ukraine, the energy grid boss said last month. The founder of MoneySavingExpert appeared on ITV’s This Morning where he suggested how it could best be avoided. My colleague Zoe Tidman reports: Andy Gregory 18 November 2022 17:05 1668790232
Voices | If the Tories were to govern again after 2024, it would be too soon
In his latest article, our political sketch writer Tom Peck suggests that if Rishi Sunak, Jeremy Hunt and their conservative predecessors have paid attention to Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson’s post-budget analysis, “then they might better to give up. and go home.” In his analysis, Mr Johnson said: “I would be very surprised if the tax burden returns to the long-term pre-Covid average at any time in the coming decades. Higher taxes and a bigger state seem to me to be here to stay unless something quite radical changes.” Tom notes that “these are not the words of an activist, but a scrupulously unbiased assessor of economic reality,” adding: “It’s a kind, accurate and devastating assessment of a decade of appallingly bad government, failure on a colossal scale. .” You can read his full analysis here: Andy Gregory November 18, 2022 4:50 pm 1668789063
The Government is committed to considering new protections for terminally ill workers
Business Secretary George Freeman has promised to consider further job protection for those with terminal illnesses after such a move was proposed in a private member’s bill brought to the Commons by Labour’s Alex Cunningham. Mr Cunningham said his Terminal Illness (Support and Rights) Bill would provide a “protected period” where those with a terminal illness could not be made redundant as a result of their condition and included measures to help those who ” believed to be within the last year. of life’ to get help with their utility bills. The measures would “provide those living with terminal illnesses with much-needed extra financial support, without costing the Exchequer a penny”, Mr Cunningham argued. The government did not commit to supporting the bill, but the…
