UK politics live: Starmer denies raising national insurance would break Labour manifesto
Sir Keir Starmer faced questions on if the government’s commitment not to raise national insurance covers employers’ contributions as well as those by employees
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Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out increasing employers’ national insurance contributions in the upcoming Budget - despite Labour’s pledge not to raise taxes on working people.
The government has faced questions on whether its commitment not to raise national insurance covers employers’ contributions as well as those by employees.
When asked for clarity in an interview with the BBC, Sir Keir said:“We were very clear in the manifesto that we wouldn’t be increasing tax on working people and we expressly said that that was income tax, that was NICs etc.”
After being further pressed on whether employers could face the tax rise in the Budget on 30 October he reiterated that Labour would not “raise tax on working people” and they would “keep promises we made in the manifesto”.
The prime minister’s stance comes after Rachel Reeves was criticised on Monday for refusing to rule out a rise in employer national insurance contributions.
Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson said on Monday that a hike in employer NI contributions would be a “straightforward breach” of the Labour manifesto.
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Reeves warned national insurance hike would be ‘straightforward breach’ of manifesto
Rachel Reeves has been warned that hiking employer national insurance contributions would be “a straightforward breach” of the Labour manifesto.
The chancellor has been told by Paul Johnson, director of the influential Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), that the party said “very clearly” it would not make the change.
Reeves warned over ‘straightforward breach’ of manifesto if national insurance hiked
Speculation is mounting that the chancellor is considering raising employer contributions
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Customers are being urged to “urgently” pressure MPs over a post-Brexit wine tax dubbed Rishi Sunak’s “sneaky Sauvignon surcharge”.
Major wine companies such as Majestic have asked customers to write to their member of parliament to highlight the issue before Rachel Reeves‘ Budget at the end of this month – to “get this ill-conceived policy stopped before it is too late”.
Brexit wine tax sparks call for consumers to pressure MPs
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Alex Salmond’s cause of death confirmed as heart attack, says Alba
A post-mortem examination has confirmed Alex Salmond’s cause of death as a heart attack, the Alba Party has said.
Mr Salmond, who was Scotland’s first minister from 2007 until 2014, died suddenly in North Macedonia on Saturday aged 69.
The former first minister had made a speech at the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy Forum in the city of Ohrid before collapsing at lunch in a crowded room.
The Scottish and UK governments are working together to repatriate the ex-SNP leader’s body.
Conservative MP David Davis, who was a friend of Mr Salmond, called for the RAF to bring Mr Salmond’s body back to the UK.
The Alba Party, which Mr Salmond founded in 2021 after leaving the SNP, said it expected an update on his return on Monday evening.
Watch: David Davis chokes up in House of Commons remembering friend Alex Salmond
Analysis: Rachel Reeves’ had no choice but to cap corporation tax
Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves had pinned their success on achieving economic growth in the UK. But critics have said that outside planning reforms there has been little on offer for businesses and more to be worried about especially with increased workers rights.
With the the chief executives of many of the world’s biggest businesses in London Ms Reeves had to give a concrete promise about what “stability” means for them and how it makes Britain a good place to invest.
By capping corporation tax she takes away some of the concerns about the Budget on 30 October where the language so far has suggested Labour are going after the rich. But she also provides some long term assurance for businesses wanting to invest in the UK.
This is also true of her agreeing to keep Rishi Sunak reforms like full expensing and research and development tax breaks.
More than £60million in UK investment announced at summit, government says
The government said a total of £63 billion of investment was committed to at a major summit in London.
The deals announced at the International Investment Summit would help create nearly 38,000 jobs, the Department for Business and Trade said.
The Labour government said the figure more than doubles the £29.5 billion committed at last year’s Global Investment Summit under Rishi Sunak’s leadership.
The Tories have claimed some of the announcements already made by the Government were in the pipeline before Sir Keir Starmer took office.
Government will “turbocharge” the UK Infrastructure Bank, Reeves says
The Government will “turbocharge” the UK Infrastructure Bank by converting it into the new National Wealth Fund, the Chancellor has announced.
Rachel Reeves told the International Investment Summit: “Today, we are creating the National Wealth Fund and making it the UK’s new impact investor.
The National Wealth Fund will catalyse tens of billions of pounds of private investment into clean energy and our growth industries, like green hydrogen, carbon capture and storage and gigafactories.
“From today, we are turbocharging the UK Infrastructure Bank, which will operate as our National Wealth Fund. It will be headquartered in Leeds with a bigger team, more freedom and an expanded suite of financial instruments and more economic risk capital to ensure that the National Wealth Fund’s investments can be even more catalytic.”
Government will cap corporation tax at 25% for the rest of the Parliament, Reeves announces
The Government will cap corporation tax at 25 per cent for the rest of the Parliament and set out a roadmap on business taxation to provide “certainty” for investors, Rachel Reeves has announced.
The Chancellor told guests at the International Investment Summit that the Government would “create a tax system that supports wealth creation and increases business investment”.
She said: “I know that providing certainty is right at the heart of that. The constant changes that we have seen in corporation tax in recent years have caused instability.
“So at the Budget, this Government will be outlining a corporate tax roadmap. We will cap the rate of corporation tax at 25%, the lowest in the G7, for the duration of this Parliament.
“We will maintain a world-leading capital allowances offer, with full expensing and the £1 million annual investment allowance, and we will maintain the current rates for the research and development reliefs which provide generous support for innovation.
“This is a vital step to deliver certainty and support businesses to grow.”
Reeves announces new British Growth Partnership within the British Business Bank
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced a new British Growth Partnership within the British Business Bank (BBB).
The partnership is expected to help bring institutional investors such as pension funds together with the BBB to make long-term, fully commercial investments by the end of 2025.
Encouraging British pension funds to invest more in the UK was a key goal of the previous government, and one the new Cabinet is also pursuing.
BBB chief executive Louis Taylor said: “By establishing the British Growth Partnership, the bank will encourage more UK pension fund investment into the UK’s fastest growing, most innovative companies.
“In addition, reforms to the bank’s financial framework, putting our £7.9 billion commercial programmes on a permanent footing, means we can flexibly reinvest our investment returns over the long term to increase growth and prosperity across the UK.”
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