News about Rachel Reeves

Richard Walker switched his backing from the Tories earlier this year saying Sir Keir Starmer's party was 'the right choice' for his customers. And he happily posed with both Sir Keir and Chancellor Rachel Reeves outside his stores during the election campaign. But he today warned against introducing a swathe of business tax increases in the Budget next month, warning UK PLC is 'not a lemon that can keep being squeezed without any adverse impact on employment or consumers'.

An estimated 71 per cent of the 1.6million disabled people who receive winter fuel payments will be hit by the controversial Labour government policy. The changes mean that households will only be entitled to the payment if they receive Pension Credit of certain other means-tested benefits. An equity assessment was published by the Department for Work and Pensions on Friday night - in what the Conservatives called 'sneaking out' information. The document states those with a disability will be 'disproportionately likely to retain' the payment and admits 71 per cent will lose their entitlement.

Like a great murmuration of migratory birds, the millionaires of Britain are massing in the departure lounges. They are revving their private jets. They are stubbing out their Cohibas in the smoking bars of Mayfair and preparing to leave our shores not just for winter but forever. They may have decided they want somewhere warmer. They may want a city where the mayor actually fights back against street crime , and where the Rolexes are not snatched from their wrists. But mainly they are going because they are simply appalled by Keir Starmer , and Rachel Reeves , and Labour 's intensifying war on the rich.

Hypocrisy, thy name is Holyrood. It's only the second week back from recess and already I'm scunnered with the lot of them. First Minister's Questions opened amid solemn speechifying about the news of Grangemouth's impending closure. It was a time of 'great uncertainty' for the workers. The local community was reeling from 'this significant economic shock'.

Figures slipped out by the Parliamentary authorities show the costs hit £136,230 last year - £10,000 more than the previous 12 months and the second highest ever. The increase could fuel calls for cats to be let loose on the estate, despite years of resistance to the idea from officials. Pictured bottom right, Speaker Lindsay Hoyle with his cat Clem. Both Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have drafted in felines to their Downing Street residences recently, with insiders making clear the rodent problem influenced the decisions. Larry (inset right) has been 'chief mouser' there for over a decade. MPs, peers and staff have long complained about infestations of mice in the historic Parliamentary buildings, with regular sightings in canteens even running across desks.

It seems pretty clear that Sir Keir and the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, have decided to push through their most painful measures at the earliest possible moment in their administration, so as to get the worst out of the way while they can still blame the Tories. I therefore think it quite possible they may introduce some form of mansion tax on family homes like mine, which have shot up in value over recent ­decades because they're in such short supply where they're needed. Meanwhile, it's a certainty that they'll tighten the thumb-screws on motorists, smokers and drinkers, pulling pious faces as they tell us it's all for the good of the environment, our well-being and the need to protect our sacred NHS. As for those who have saved for our retirement, you can bet your last penny that this government will grab as much from our pension pots as it possibly can.

Over the next few months, I am moving every single one of my assets, built up over 45 years of creating my business, Pimlico Plumbers, from scratch, out of the country. My Rolls-Royce, my Bentley, my investments - they're all going. I don't intend to have even a bank account in my name here. It's not a decision I have made lightly, although in some ways it doesn't feel like my decision at all. It would be more accurate to say I feel forced out by a hard-Left administration intent on inflicting punitive taxes on everyone from the striving middle-classes to the nation's biggest wealth creators while feathering the nests of their union cronies.

The resurrected ban on junk food advertising is further proof of socialism's desire to micro-manage the lives of everyone in Britain. As Sir Keir Starmer prepares to put the whole nation on a diet, serious questions remain about how the scheme will work. The Conservatives, who originated the proposals, ended up kicking them into the long grass for a range of reasons. Fears of a 'nanny state' was one. Do we really want to be a country where Mr Kipling can no longer advertise cake at teatime and Harry Ramsden is barred from promoting fish-and-chip suppers?

in January 2018, Philip Hammond asked the Office of Tax Simplification to carry out a review of inheritance tax - its verdict was damning. It painted a picture of a total mess of a tax, which despite only being paid by a small percentage of estates manages to create an administration nightmare for many more and where the merely rich pay a higher effective rate than the really rich.

Rachel Reeves yesterday defended her decision to claim thousands of pounds in expenses to heat her second home while scrapping winter fuel payments for pensioners. Official figures show the Chancellor has claimed £3,700 over the last five years to pay the energy bills at her constituency home in Leeds. She has faced intense criticism for her decision to means-test the winter fuel payment, which will see 10 million pensioners lose annual payments worth up to £300. Ms Reeves, who earns £158,851, told GB News : 'I recognise that I earn more than average families in Britain, but I'm also determined in this position to protect the most vulnerable, which is why the winter fuel payment will continue to be paid to pensioners on pension credit.'

Working Britain is in ­serious trouble. A shocking new report has revealed that tens of thousands of graduates are leaving university - only to join the ranks of Britain's ever-growing numbers of 'long-term sick'. Some 2.8million people in this country are currently 'inactive' due to chronic illness, up 700,000 since Covid-19. And the problem is getting worse. People aged 16 to 24 are in the prime of life. They should be launching into their careers, starting to grow their nest eggs and grabbing at life with all the energy that youth affords. But now they are the fastest-growing group among those languishing on sickness benefits. What is wrong with them? Has some terrible new disease struck the young as Spanish Flu did in the aftermath of the First World War?

Rachel Reeves - wan, almost immobile - could have been a woman in shock. Looked as if she might be sick at any moment. No wonder her neighbour Yvette Cooper was so pinched by worry. Steve Reed, Environment Secretary, stared balefully at the middle distance, violence on a hair-trigger. If you saw a bloke like that on public transport you might sense something was 'not quite right' and feel disposed to telephone the 'See It. Say It. Sorted.' hotline. At the despatch box, Sir Keir was doing his best to parry Rishi Sunak 's criticisms of his winter fuel allowance cut; Lisa Nandy, Culture Secretary , ­radiated only anxiety. Eyes agog, she chewed one cheek so much that it yanked her entire face to one side.

Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves only pay a taxable benefit on running costs at the grace-and-favour apartments - capped at 10 per cent of their ministerial salaries. It means that they contribute around £3,000 to cover all utilities, and the sum will not go up when the Ofgem cap increases by 10 per cent next month. The situation could fuel a furious backlash at ministers for stripping around 10million pensioners of winter fuel allowance, worth up to £300. The measure was approved by MPs last night despite more than 50 of Sir Keir's own troops making their excuses to stay away from the division lobbies.

The Chancellor lashed out at the former Tory administration as Labour came under deepening pressure over the scenes outside jails, where those let out partied with champagne and sports cars. The Government let 1,700 prisoners out yesterday to ease record overcrowding and prevent the criminal justice system from seizing up entirely due to a lack of cells. Some 5,000 will be freed in the coming weeks. Some were greeted by a cacophony on their release, with friends blasting out music and giving them new clothes, and some even spraying the former prisoners with sparkling wine to celebrate their newfound freedom. One lag leaving HMP Pentonville in London was greeted by a friend driving a Lamborghini.

The government is facing mounting fury after the Commons approved axing winter fuel payments for 10million older people (inset left). MPs who backed Keir Starmer 's plan amid tears and recriminations at Parliament last night are being targeted online, with Tories making clear they will be held accountable. After a day of drama just one Labour MP - veteran left-winger Jon Trickett - voted against the measure, although more than 50 abstained. It is still unclear what punishments Sir Keir will impose, with Mr Trickett jibing that he would 'sleep well' after taking his stand. The PM will face a grilling in the chamber at lunchtime with the weekly PMQs session. Rachel Reeves (centre) again insisted this morning that she had been forced into the controversial policy by a 'black hole' in the public finances.

SNP ministers have not been 'honest' about their mishandling of taxpayers' money, Sir Keir Starmer has said. In a stinging attack, the Prime Minister contrasted Labour 's frank assessment of the public finances with the SNP's denial that it was at fault. He said: 'They've been in power for 17 years. They're desperately flailing around, trying to blame a government of eight weeks for mistakes that they've made.' Last week, SNP finance secretary Shona Robison announced an emergency £500million cuts package to balance her budget for 2024/25.

Topsy-turvy times: a Labour party kneeing old-age pensioners in the soft parts and Conservatives tremulous-voiced, one almost weeping, as they spoke up for oldies. While the Tories made the case for winter fuel payments, explaining how cold weather can kill, you could see Labour's new MPs think, 'Dang, I wish I could say that'. But when it came to the division, most of them supported Rachel Reeves 's cut. They've been blooded now. Smudged at the gralloch with the raw viscera of politics. And every one of their constituents will now be able to see how they voted. Shadow pensions secretary Mel Stride (above right) flew into a prolonged tirade about the 'hypocrisy of a Labour party.

My decision to work on, when so many friends and colleagues have hung up their legal pads, swapped their suits for ill-fitting casual clothes and turned in their company cars is, I know, exceptional. After all, as a more youthful colleague John-Paul Ford Rojas reported last month, some 3,622,000 citizens aged 50 to 64 - mere striplings by my standards - have become economically inactive by no longer looking for work. Former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt recognised this was a huge waste of talent and manpower in an economy where the official figures show 884,000 known vacancies being advertised at the end of July. There is little common ground between Hunt and his successor Rachel Reeves. But getting Britain working again, as part of a 'growth' agenda, clearly is something which politicians across the divide must agree upon. As for role models, legendary investor Warren Buffett (pictured left) is still going strong at 94.

A widowed pensioner has slammed Labour's 'cruel' plan to axe winter fuel payments, saying she already can't afford to use her oven and sets her thermostat to just five degrees at night. MPs will vote this afternoon on the Government's controversial cut, which critics have warned will force millions of older people to turn down their heating this winter.  Sir Keir Starmer is expected to use his huge Commons majority to force through the measure, despite protests by dozens of Labour MPs who fear a huge electoral backlash.  Pensioners who already fret about the cost of living slammed the plans as 'ridiculous', with one saying: 'I fear I will freeze of cold, and no one will be here.' Widower Elaine Yates (pictured left with her late husband Michael) from Irchester, Northants, sets her thermostat to 13 degrees in the day and turns it down to just five degrees at night.

The poll comes before MPs will vote this afternoon on the Government's controversial cut, which critics have warned will force millions of older people to turn down their heating this winter. Sir Keir Starmer is expected to use his huge Commons majority to force through the measure, despite protests by dozens of Labour MPs who fear a huge electoral backlash. Union barons accused ministers of 'picking pensioners' pockets'. In an ominous intervention, the Unite union urged Sir Keir to abandon the 'very cruel' policy.

In a new report today, the Resolution Foundation says tax rises in next month's Budget are a 'dead cert' - and suggests the Chancellor could raise 'tens of billions', despite ruling out increases in income tax, National Insurance and VAT during the election. The think tank, which has close links to Labour, also calls for rises in fuel duty - and suggests Labour should consider charging drivers an extra 6p a mile to use their cars as part of a new road pricing scheme. Sir Keir Starmer has already paved the way for a tax-raising Budget next month, warning it will contain 'painful' decisions on both tax and welfare. Adam Corlett, of the Resolution Foundation, said: 'There is widespread speculation about what might be in the first Budget of the new Parliament, but overall tax rises are a dead cert and time-honoured tradition. The Labour manifesto included £10 billion of tax rises, but fresh ones will be needed in order for Rachel Reeves to sufficiently fund public services and investment while still hitting her fiscal rules.

Keir Starmer doesn't much like the House of Lords and plans to cut it down to size. Yet it will be hard for him to ignore a report by the economic affairs committee which is stuffed with former great and good of the Treasury and finance. The findings on the national debt are highly relevant ahead of Rachel Reeves's first Budget and efforts to ladle the blame on the Tories for rotten public finances and an alleged £22billion black hole.

The Chancellor defended the decision to make the £300 payments means-tested ahead of a vote in the Commons tomorrow expected to see a major Labour rebellion. The government has come under attack from the left and right, from unions to the Tories, over the cut, which has sparked warnings that pensioners may die from cold rather than turn on their heating this winter. But addressing a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) tonight Ms Reeves said pensioners were already £900 better off thanks to a state pension rise this year.

Mick Whelan, the general secretary of Aslef, has warned trade unions will 'never be content' just weeks after striking a  bumper pay deal with the new Labour Government. It could mean that rather than ending strikes, the Government's willingness to negotiate huge pay deals could lead to more demands from public-sector workers. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has come under fire for several pay increases across different sectors while also complaining of a £22billion 'black hole' in the government's books,