UK Politics Thread part II

[Jimbuna]

Yet another one is about to bite the dust.

A former Tory minister has announced he will stand down as an MP at the next election to spend more time with his wife, who has suffered a stroke.

Sir Bob Neill, 71, was first elected in 2006, and served as a junior minister in the coalition government.

The Bromley and Chislehurst MP chairs the Commons justice committee.

In a statement, Sir Bob said his wife "has always been there to support me, and I want to do the same for her and our family".

Ann-Louise, who suffered a stroke in 2019, has "been fighting bravely to recover" ever since, he said.

"It is a tough road for her, but we are very positive about it. Even so, I have concluded that it is right for me to spend more time supporting her."

In the statement, he praised Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for "giving the country the honest, diligent and pragmatic leadership that our country deserves", and said he would continue to work for his constituents until he stands down.

Sir Bob has previously served as a Tory party vice-chairman, and has chaired the Commons justice committee for the last nine years.

At the last general election in December 2019, he won his Bromley and Chislehurst seat by a majority of nearly 11,000 over Labour.

Last month he warned the Commons that legislating to overturn the convictions of Post Office workers caught up in the Horizon scandal would be "unprecedented".

Sir Bob is the latest in a series of Conservative MPs who have announced their plans to step down at the next general election.

Earlier this week, justice minister Mike Freer said he would do so after receiving death threats and an alleged arson attack on his constituency office.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68190390

[mapuc]

A question
When an MP steps down in your Parliament. Does s/he become an independent member of the Parliament and can vote as they desire or has s/he have to leave the Parliament.

If it is the latter how do you fill up the empty seat ?

Markus

[Jimbuna]

If they literally 'left Parliament' then the seat would be subject to a new election but if they simply stood down and left their party then they would become an independent MP for the remaining duration of said Parliamentary term.

[mapuc]

Thank you Jim, then it's almost as the same here in Denmark and Sweden-Except when a politician leave the Parliament a next in line take their place-No local election.

Markus

[Jimbuna]

Not a great many do....it is hard enough as it is getting rid of the buggas.

[Moonlight]

City's 10% tax rise approved amid financial crisis

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4nkzejrrx4o

The levelling-up secretary Michael Gove confirmed the news in a written statement.

He said: “It is disappointing that Birmingham City taxpayers are having to foot the bill for the council’s poor governance and decision making.

“Whilst the government will not oppose this request given the seriousness of the circumstances, any decision to increase council tax is solely one for Birmingham City Council, who should have taken into account the pressures that people in Birmingham are currently facing on living costs.”

[Jimbuna]

I doubt there'll be many councils who won't increase the council tax threshold by less than the 5% maximum allowed this year.

[Jimbuna]

The pressure surrounding the runup to the election must be impairing his judgement.

Shame indeed!

Rishi Sunak makes trans jibe in front of Brianna Ghey’s mother

Rishi Sunak has come under fire for mocking Sir Keir Starmer’s track record on trans rights while Brianna Ghey’s mother was a guest in parliament.

The prime minister’s latest blunder came not long after the Labour leader welcomed Esther Ghey, who was due to appear in the public gallery to observe PMQs, just days after her 16-year-old daughter’s killers were jailed for life.

In an ill-tempered exchange, Mr Sunak accused the leader of the opposition leader of u-turning on his definition of a woman.

He said it was “a bit rich” to hear about promises from someone who had broken every single promise he was elected on. Mr Sunak listed “pensions, planning, peerages”, among others, before adding that that the Labour leader had u-turned on “defining a woman, although, in fairness, that was only 99 per cent of a u-turn.”

Mr Starmer replied: “Of all the weeks to say that, when Brianna’s mother is in this chamber. Shame.”

The Labour leader added that the PM was “parading as a man of integrity when he has got absolutely no responsibility”, while shouts of shame ran up from the backbenches.

He added: “I think the role of the prime minister is to make sure that every single citizen in this country feels safe and respected, and it’s a shame the prime minister doesn’t share that”.

Despite the Labour leader’s comments - and a request from Labour MP Liz Twist to apologise - the PM did not offer an apology for his comments.

At the end PMQs, Mr Sunak did address Esther Ghey’s presence. He said: “Also to Brianna Ghey’s mum, who is here, as I said earlier this week, what happened was an unspeakable and shocking tragedy.”

He added: “In the face of that, for her mother to demonstrate the compassion and empathy that she did last weekend, I thought demonstrated the very best of humanity in the face of seeing the very worst of humanity, and she deserves all our admiration and praise for that.”

Though Ms Ghey may not have heard original remarks made by Mr Sunak, she would likely have heard Liz Twist asking for an apology and the prime minister’s subseqent backtracking.

Jess Phillips MP, shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, called the prime minister “an absolute disgrace”.

On social media site, X, she said: “Rishi Sunak is an absolute disgrace. Deplorable man with no heart, no sense, no clue. The sooner we are rid the better.”

She added: “How dare he be so gross in the face of the family of a murdered child. He is the lowest of the low.”

Rishi Sunak’s No.10 press secretary has not ruled out using the same line against trans people again.

The prime minister’s press secretary told reporters: “I can’t see into the future”, when asked if the Prime Minister would make a similar jibe.

They added that “it is legitimate” for Mr Sunak to “point out the number of u-turns the leader of the opposition has made,” and said they “don’t accept” the prime minister was using trans people as a punch line.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknew...812d3db5&ei=12

[MGR1]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

I doubt there'll be many councils who won't increase the council tax threshold by less than the 5% maximum allowed this year.

Always a problem with Councils, regardless of how well or not they're run. Particularly when you factor in inflation and an aging and increasingly unhealthy population, etc.

They provide services that people need and want, but no-one wants pay the taxes that would fund them.

"That's a great idea, but I don't want to pay for it. Someone else can be taxed for the revenue instead." sums up the whole problem with funding UK public services.


Mike.

[Jimbuna]

True that

[Moonlight]

Labour meltdown at 'stupid' Keir Starmer as £28bn green investment plan is ditched just DAYS after he said it was 'desperately needed'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-election.html

I'm not surprised this policy has bit the dust, everyone in the UK would have paid for this needless yoke around our necks, it was only welcomed by Labour politicians and carrot munchers who have nothing between their ears.
Now then Starmer, what other policies are you going to dump next, come on man spit it out, you know you want to.

[Jimbuna]

Rishi continues to say the Tories are the party of low taxation

Jeremy Hunt urged to save millions from being dragged into paying income tax

Millions more people are paying income tax with the total number surging to 35.5 million an increase of 4.5m since 2010, new research has revealed.

An additional 2.8million have been dragged into paying the top rates of income tax and 1.7 million more people are paying the basic rate.

Income tax thresholds were frozen in 2021/22 and since then the largest increases in new taxpayers are in Yorkshire and the Humber, Wales and the North East.In contrast, London saw the smallest percentage increase of people paying income tax since 2021/22, both in terms of the basic rate, the higher rate and the additional rate.

As chancellor, Rishi Sunak froze the tax-free income allowance at £12,570 in 2021-22 and set the higher rate at which earnings are taxed at 40% at £50,270.
The Bank of England's inflation calculator shows that had these thresholds risen in line with prices they would now stand at around £15,000 and £60,000.

This year the chancellor Jeremy Hunt has imposed an additional rate of 45% on salaries and earnings above £125,141 instead of £150,000 last year.

Freezing the thresholds creates "fiscal drag", hitting more workers with higher tax bills as the years go by.

Since thresholds were frozen in 2021/22, an additional 1.1 million are paying the basic rate of income tax and an additional 1 million are paying the higher rate.

Sarah Coles, Head of Personal Finance at stockbrokers Hargreaves Lansdown said: "When Rishi Sunak froze income tax thresholds for 2021-22, inflation was nowhere near what we went on to experience.

"As a result this policy produced much more revenue than expected with many more people becoming both basic and higher rate taxpayers.

"While fiscal drag has been a great cash cow for the government, it has not been done in a way that was designed or planned by anyone, it has just happened by accident.

"As a result, even if people are aware they are paying a higher rate of income tax they might not be aware that they are paying loads of other sorts of taxes that are linked to it as well.

"Higher rate taxpayers pay more tax on savings interest, more on capital gains tax and more tax on dividends from investments.

"There are lots of other rates attached to income tax that makes life even more expensive for people than it already is.

"This can be mitigated by using Isas, pension savings and tax-planning as a couple to make sure you are not paying more tax than you have to."

Darwin Friend, research director of the TaxPayers' Alliance which carried out the research, said: "Taxpayers in every corner of the United Kingdom are struggling with the bruising impact of tax rises and threshold freezes.

"The transformation of Britain into a high-tax, low-growth economy has hit almost every household, from Edinburgh to Eastleigh and Cardiff to Colchester.

"Ministers must use the budget to give taxpayers the income tax relief they desperately need."

In 2014, the current foreign secretary Lord Cameron described lifting millions of people out of tax while prime minister as "one of the proudest things I have done in government."

His coalition government lifted the personal allowance from £6,475 to £10,000 in a move that won universal support.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/othe...dad09bd4&ei=21

[Jimbuna]

Whilst on the topic of taxation.....read it and weep.

Millionaire Rishi Sunak paid same tax rate as teacher - and only slightly higher than nurse

Rishi Sunak paid almost the same tax rate as a nurse despite earning millions more, it has been revealed.

The super-rich published a summary of his tax return showing that he made more than £2.2million in the last financial year. The document shows he paid £508,308 in income tax and capital gains tax in the UK.

His vast income included £1.8million in capital gains from a single US-based investment fund, as well as £293,407 in other interest and dividends. He also got £139,477 in salary from his roles as MP and Prime Minister.

Mr Sunak paid an effective tax rate of 22.8% on his £2.2million income, which is the same rate as paid by a teacher on an average salary of £41,604, according to figures from Tax Justice UK. It is only slightly higher than the 21% effective tax rate paid by a nurse on a typical salary of £37,000.
Robert Palmer of Tax Justice UK said: “People will be shocked to learn the Prime Minister has such a low tax rate despite bringing in millions. But this is a feature of our broken tax system.

"At the moment someone who earns most of their money from their wealth - like the Prime Minister - pays a much lower tax rate than someone who relies on going out to work for their living. We need to fix this to make sure that income from wealth is taxed at the same rate as income from work.”

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt also published a summary of his tax return that showed he made a total of £416,605 last year, including £27,370 in rental income. He paid £117,418 in income tax and capital gains tax in the UK.

Mr Sunak first pledged to publish his tax returns during his failed Tory leadership campaign against Liz Truss in the summer of 2022.

The PM and his wife Akshata Murty are the richest inhabitants of Downing Street in history with an estimated £520milllion fortune, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

Earlier this week he was branded "out of touch" for agreeing to a £1,000 bet on whether deportation flights to Rwanda will get going before the election. He is also under pressure to come clean over whether he uses an NHS dentist.

Downing Street is refusing to say whether the super-rich PM knows what life is like for the millions of ordinary voters finding it difficult to get check-ups.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/othe...1cb8bbe2&ei=14

[Jimbuna]

[Moonlight]

For ****s sake, send them some cash and they might stop demanding money under false pretences.