Hunt attacks Starmer for ‘fake news’ as Chancellor hints another National Insurance tax cut – UK politics live
The Chancellor has released a 19-page report accusing the Labour party of digging a £38 billion black hole with Starmer’s campaign pledges
Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox
Get our free View from Westminster email
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled new tax cuts if the Conservatives win the general election as he accuses Labour of “playground politics” following Sir Keir Starmer’s speech on Thursday.
Speaking from London, he hinted at further National Insurance cuts before the general election kicks off after Summer.
He claimed Labour’s electoral pledges would cost tax payers £59 billion over the next four years and accused Labour of “lying” and labelled “fake news” their economic plans.
He has also pledged “taxes will go down under a Conservative government” and accused Sir Keir Starmer of planning to hikes as “sure as night follows day”.
Meanwhile, David Lammy has launched Labour’s foreign policy campaign pledge as he vowed voters to reinstall trust between the UK and the EU amid security threats.
He added the country is currently facing key challenges around war and security, over-dependency with unfriendly states, and low growth around West.
Comment: Project Starmer, like Project Blair, is all about one thing - winning
Despite some woolly promises (and the noticeable absence of a pledge on income tax), the Labour leader who set out his six pledges in Essex is a quantum leap improvement on the Starmer of a year ago, writes Joe Murphy.
Project Starmer, like Project Blair, is all about one thing
Despite some woolly promises (and the noticeable absence of a pledge on income tax), the Labour leader who set out his six pledges in Essex is a quantum leap improvement on the Starmer of a year ago, writes Joe Murphy
Sunak should be judged on his record not his wealth, says No 10
The Prime Minister and his wife Akshata Murty has been crowned one of top Britain’s richest people.
His staggering wealth came in at 245th on the annual Sunday Times Rich List list.
Unlike his popularity on the polls, Sunak’s wealth has increased from £529million in 2023 to £651million. This means he is now richer than King Charles.
But Downing Street has defended the PM saying he would be judged by his actions, not his wallet.
The Prime Minister’s deputy spokesman said: “He’s been asked about this before and we’d always point people to the actions that he takes to support people.
“When he’s been asked this question before, he’s responded that people should judge him by his actions, such as providing support during the pandemic. That’s his focus and his priority and he should be judged on that.”
Starmer is ‘Blair without the flair’, says Nigel Farage
The Reform UK president has attacked Sir Keir Starmer after his keynote speech on Thursday.
Speaking on GB News, he said: “It’s absolutely identical. Now look there is an argument that if you find a winning formula you keep using it.
“But I just put this to you folks. This is Blair without the flair. This is almost a charisma-free zone. But crucially, does this win your vote?”
Suella mocked online after attending pro-Palestine uni encampments
Tory MP Suella Braverman is facing fierce backlash online for a resurfaced video where she visited pro-Palestine encampments in Cambridge yesterday.
Footage from GB News shows protesters refusing to answer the former Home Secretary’s questions.
In the video, she says: “These are supposed to be some of the brightest and the best students in the land, and taught in the art of articulating their views.
“And expressing arguments in a coherent way. And I’me interested in hearing their argument. Engaging and listening”
New Welsh Minister appointed after Hannah Blyhtyn sacking
First Minister of Wales Vaughn Gething has replaced MPs Blyhtyn after she was suspended for allegedly leaking confidential messages to the media.
Sarah Murphy, MS for Bridgend, will now fill the junior ministerial role.
Mr Gething said yesterday he had “no alternative” but to ask the Blythyn to resign.
She then said she was “deeply shocked and saddened” by the decision and denied all accusations.
Polls: Voters back taxing rich more to pay for NHS
The new FocalData survey commissioned by the group Tax Justice UK suggests that there is public support for major changes to the tax system.
Nearly two thirds of voters would be more likely to back a political party committed to higher taxes on the wealthiest to fund the NHS and public services. Told that a 1 to 2 per cent ‘mansion tax’ on assets worth over £10m would affect around 20,000 people and could raise up to £22bn a year, 72 per cent of respondents indicated that they would support for such a tax, with 73 per cent backing such a toll to help invest in the NHS.
And 57 per cent of the survey’s 1,011 respondents said they would support charging the same tax rate on income derived from wealth as on income earned from employment.
James Cleverly defends Rwanda scheme despite backlash
The Home Secretary says he stands still behind the Government’s intention to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.
He says: “We’ve recognised that there has been a concerted effort to prevent this policy being deployed through legal challenge.
“And we’ve made sure that the law, the Safety of Rwanda Act, is robust, that it addresses the legal concerns that were highlighted to us.”
Mr Cleverly adds the Conservatives are pushing to fly off people to save lives and “breaking the business model of criminal gangs”.
His claims come despite the Supreme Court ruling Rwanda is not a safe country.
Andrew Mitchell, the deputy foreign secretary, previously said not only is it safe, but Kigali, the Rwandan capital, is safer than London.
MPs support proposals to extend pubs’ opening hours
The policy would make it easier for boozers and other hospitality venues to extend their opening hours during national and local events.
The proposal is now a step closer into to becoming law thanks to support from MPs.
Labour’s Emma Lewell-Buck, who was the first to draft the Licensing Hours Extensions Bill, says it aims to simplify the “costly, overly bureaucratic, time consuming and restrictive” parliamentary process and make it possible for an order to be approved when Parliament is in recess.
The South Shields MP said there was a “missed opportunity” when England reached the final of the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia last year, due to Parliament’s licensing rules.
Member of Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet ‘misspoke’ - to the tune of £70bn - on key green policy
A member of Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet has said he “misspoke” - to the tune of £70bn – about one of his party’s key green policies.
Months after Labour faced criticism for scaling back plans to spend £28bn a year on environmental investments, shadow environment secretary Steve Reed appeared to suggest that figure had increased again.
But he later said he “clearly misspoke” and insisted the cost of GB Energy was much lower.
‘A very messy divorce,’ Shadow Foreign Secretary says
David Lammy is taking questions from the media after finishing his speech outlining Labour’s foreign policy pledges.
Speaking about Brexit and future security pacts with the EU, he says: “The UK had a very messy divorce.”
Referring to Northern Ireland’s Brexit deal, he says: “It was only with the Windsor framework that we got custody of the children.
“A Labour government can build trust back between the UK and European Union over security pacts.”
He adds the country is facing key challenges around war and security, and over-dependency with unfriendly states, and low growth around West.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies