UK Politics Thread part II

[Jimbuna]

Rachel Reeves to face winter fuel cuts fury as protesters target her Leeds constituency

Rachel Reeves is set to face protests in her own constituency against her decision to strip winter fuel payments from millions of pensioners.

The protests, organised by the Unite trade union and the Yorkshire and Humber Pensioners’ Convention, will take place in Leeds on Thursday – just days before farmers descend on London in a row over the chancellor’s tax hikes.

Ministers have defended the changes, saying they have to “get the money from somewhere” and blaming the last Conservative government for leaving a £22bn black hole in the public finances.

But critics have warned many pensioners will have to choose between heating and eating this winter, especially if Britain suffers a cold snap.

New polling by Survation shows that in Ms Reeves’ own constituency of Leeds West and Pudsey, just a third of voters support the introduction of means testing for the winter fuel allowance. Meanwhile, 68 per cent of voters think it is unfair that pensioners on incomes as low as £220 a week will no longer get the money to help pay their fuel bills.

Nearly three quarters, 72 per cent, are also worried about themselves or a family member affording their heating bills this winter.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "The campaign opposing the pickpocketing of pensioners is now coming to the chancellor’s own backyard. Her own constituents don’t support the policy and neither does the rest of the country.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknew...f1de32d5&ei=34

[Jimbuna]

The ultimate kick in the teeth to those who were born and pay there taxes here in the UK

Council row: Locals fuming as migrants 'will be given private healthcare' impacting area's 'stretched' health services

Acouncil meeting in Greater Manchester erupted into chaos after claims that hundreds of migrants would receive private healthcare despite local services being "very stretched."

The heated scenes unfolded during a public meeting of Trafford Council, where residents voiced their outrage over healthcare provisions for asylum seekers housed at the Cresta Court Hotel in Altrincham.

The controversy centres around approximately 300 men who were recently moved into the hotel, which had abruptly cancelled thousands of existing bookings, including wedding receptions.

Conservative group leader Nathan Evans told concerned locals that the migrants had been contracted to a private "doctors' system," though he noted this was his understanding rather than a confirmed fact.

Government insiders quickly disputed these healthcare claims, telling reporters it was a "legal requirement" for migrants to receive healthcare treatment.

A Home Office source insisted asylum seekers were not receiving private healthcare but rather a "standard service".

Cllr Evans claimed he discovered the healthcare contract last week, accusing Labour of maintaining a "wall of silence" over the situation.

The Conservative councillor later expressed his concerns about local healthcare pressures, stating: "We just had our Minor Injuries Unit at Altrincham Hospital closed. We've now 300 people on our doorstep."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/oth...59e12663&ei=14

[Jimbuna]

Labour loses 40% of council seats defended since General Election as popularity slumps

Labour has lost more than four in 10 of the council seats it has defended in by-elections since the General Election, figures have revealed.

The ruling party has fought in 58 council seats since the national poll, of which it has held 34 but lost 24.

Political analyst David Cowling, former political research editor at the BBC who conducted the analysis, said: "You would expect a governing party to take a bit of a hit after a General Election, but certainly not as immediate nor as drastic as this."

The Liberal Democrats, Green Party, Reform UK and the Scottish Nationalists all won seats from Labour.

But most of its defeats have involved ceding wards to the Conservatives, who have gained 14 council seats from Labour.

Labour has also gained five additional council seats, including three in Scotland and one in Wales.

Mr Cowling said: "This is extraordinary to me - we'd expect Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Greens to be pecking at the corpse of the Conservative Party and stripping it bare."

Labour's popularity has plunged since the July 4 election because of winter fuel payment fury, rows over freebies, National Insurance increases on employers and an inheritance tax raid on farmers.

It won 402 out of 650 parliamentary constituencies and secured a working majority of 163 this summer, although it only won 34% of the popular vote.

Mr Cowling said voter support for Labour had fallen eight percentage points from an average of 38% since July 4, to 30% in October.

Support for the Tories has risen from an average of 21% to 25% during the same period.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's approval rating has plummeted from a high of plus 11 in July to minus 38, a survey by More in Common has found.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknew...ce1a2cd5&ei=28

[Jimbuna]

Furious farmers take brilliant revenge on Rachel Reeves as Labour fear 'dirty protest'

Furious farmers are planning a surprise second protest against Labour's planned tractor tax, ahead of the widely-publicised showdown in Whitehall next week.

Labour's Welsh conference in Llandudno is now set to see a major showdown between the government and farmers, as they demand a u-turn on Rachel Reeves' painful inheritance tax changes.

It has emerged that while Westminster was focusing on the planned protest next Tuesday, a group called Enough is Enough has quietly put the call out for farmers to turn up en masse and cause havoc at Labour's annual Welsh get-together.

From 8.30am on Saturday, farmers will arrive in the northern seaside town, with the call to arms requesting they attend "in any form possible".

However it added: "If you can turn up with an agricultural vehicle, e.g. tractors/slurry tankers/lorries/4x4 and trailers please do so."

The call for slurry tankers further raises the possibility of a French-style dirty protest, with manure being spread on the streets or sprayed at buildings.

The planned Welsh protest comes after First Minister Eluned Morgan demanded calm over the tax changes, as only a "tiny proportion" of farms will be hit by the tax - something the National Farmers Union say is incorrect.

The First Minister told the BBC: "I think we should just all calm down a bit until we are clear about how many farms will be affected".

One furious farmer responded: "Calm down? Think she might be in for a bit of a wake up in Llandudno".

One organiser said on Facebook that protesting the event is especially important given Keir Starmer's planned attendance.

He said: "We need as much support as possible to highlight the pressure we are under."

"We have family farms that have been feeding the nation for generations and it's important to safeguard this industry. NO FARMERS NO FOOD it's simple.

"We want to feed you labour wants to starve you!!!! Remember you can live without a politician but not a farmer."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other...bac0de61&ei=32

[Jimbuna]

Labour slumps to embarrassing by-election loss near Jeremy Clarkson's home amid tax row

Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party suffered a humiliating defeat in a council by-election close to Jeremy Clarkson's home as fury mounted over the farming tax fiasco.

The party's vote collapsed by a staggering 33.8%, allowing the Liberal Democrats to swoop in and gain the Chipping Norton seat from Labour on West Oxfordshire District Council.

Insiders believe voters abandoned Labour over the Government's "family farm tax". Clarkson has been a vocal critic of Chancellor Rachel Reeves's decision.

A Tory source said: "The Lib Dems didn't seem to campaign that much from what we've seen and just took advantage of Labour supporters' frustrations I suspect.

"It's definitely blowback over recent decisions.

"Labour are normally very well organised and do well there."

A Liberal Democrat source said: "This stunning win is another sign of the growing rural revolt over the Government's family farm tax.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknew...9cb0f960&ei=14

[Jimbuna]

[Jimbuna]

Rachel Reeves accused of exaggerating time spent working for Bank of England

Rachel Reeves has been accused of exaggerating the length of her service working at the Bank of England.

In an interview from Stylist magazine in 2021, the Chancellor said she had spent a decade working as an economist at the Bank of England (BoE) and “loved it”.

After the interview, she said in a social media post: “A real pleasure to speak to @‌StylistMagazine about my time as an economist at the Bank of England.”

However, Ms Reeves’s LinkedIn page lists only a six-year period of service at the Bank from September 2000 to December 2006.

According to her LinkedIn profile, during her time at the Bank she worked in the international economic analysis division, then, at the British Embassy Washington as Second Secretary of the economic division and later in the structural economic analysis division.

It comes after Ms Reeves was accused of being dishonest about her work at the Bank of Scotland. This week the Chancellor’s LinkedIn page was edited to change her job title at the bank from “Economist” to “Retail Banking”.

‘Economical with the truth’

Conservatives have said she has been “economical with the truth”.

Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, called the claim “another brazen lie from Rachel Reeves”.

He told The Telegraph: “Rachel Reeves has proven herself to be a compulsive liar. During the election campaign she lied through her teeth about not raising taxes on working people. Now she’s been exposed brazenly lying about her CV, which would be curtains for most people. It’s one rule for her, another for everyone else.”

One of the six years the Chancellor spent at the Bank was for a year-long master’s course at the London School of Economics. Henry Newman, a former adviser to Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, said: “Her own LinkedIn shows Reeves spent six years at Bank, of which one was spent studying - so not working as an economist.”

An online archive shows that in 2009, when Ms Reeves was campaigning to be an MP, her website said: “Rachel has spent her professional career as an economist working for the Bank of England, the British Embassy in Washington and at Halifax Bank of Scotland.”

A Labour source said: “The Chancellor won’t take any lectures on honesty from a man whose scandals went too far for even Boris Johnson to stand by him.

“The British public voted for change with Labour this summer, and after Robert Jenrick’s performance you can see why.”

The Chancellor was approached for comment.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknew...105ddd66&ei=16

[Jimbuna]

Two faced and two tier Starmer.

Tackle violent crime instead of tweets, Starmer urges police after Allison Pearson row

Police should focus on tackling violent crime and burglaries instead of questioning people over their social media posts, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The Prime Minister urged forces to “concentrate on what matters most to their communities” amid the deepening row over a police investigation into Telegraph writer Allison Pearson’s post on X a year ago.

He said chief constables who prioritised looking into complaints about allegedly offensive tweets would be “held to account for those decisions”.

Sir Keir intervened after politicians, campaigners and a former MI6 chief warned that hate crime laws were being exploited to stifle free speech.

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said that police were using hate crime laws wrongly 90 per cent of the time, while Lord Stevens, the former Met commissioner, called for forces to focus on tackling violent crime rather than policing people’s opinions online.

Expand article logo Continue reading

Former MI6 head Sir Richard Dearlove suggested the investigation into Pearson was a waste of resources.

Essex Police has come under fierce scrutiny over its decision to investigate Pearson over an allegedly offensive tweet. Two officers visited her home on Remembrance Sunday and invited her for an interview over “an incident or offence of potentially inciting racial hatred online”.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknew...405521a2&ei=22

[Jimbuna]

So much for those who still believe Labour represent the British working class.

Warning retail job cuts ‘inevitable’ after Budget
High Street job losses are "inevitable", prices will rise, and shops will close because of tax rises in the Budget and other rising costs, a group of the biggest retailers in the UK is warning.

Tesco, Amazon, Greggs, Next and dozens of other chains are urging the Treasury to reconsider some of the measures.

In a letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, external, they said the "cumulative burden" of the Budget changes and other policies already in the pipeline will add billions in costs to a sector with a 3% to 5% profit margin.

A Treasury spokesperson said the government had had to "make difficult choices to fix the foundations of the country".

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey told the Treasury Committee on Tuesday he had seen the letter and it was "right" to say jobs could be affected.

"I think there is a risk here that the reduction in employment could be more, yes. I think that's a risk," he said.

Measures in the Budget, in particular a rise in the tax that firms pay on their staff's wages, have been met with a tide of criticism from business, who argue it will hold back growth.

But concerns have been loudest among retailers and hospitality businesses, where many young people find their first jobs. Firms in those sectors are also facing higher costs from next year's rise in the minimum wage.

Though many individual retailers have already spoken out, this letter marks the first time so many have done so together.

The 80 signatories of the letter range from big British retailers - such as Aldi, Asda, Boots, Currys, John Lewis, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Primark and Sainsbury's - to charity shop group the British Heart Foundation and trade group Associated Independent Stores.

The government has defended its tax rises as necessary to avoid cuts to public services, and the rise in the minimum wage, with a bigger boost for younger workers and apprentices, has been welcomed by trades unions.

The letter from the businesses belonging to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said: "The sheer scale of new costs and the speed with which they occur create a cumulative burden that will make job losses inevitable, and higher prices a certainty."

It calculated the changes would add over £7bn a year in costs, adding it would "not be possible to absorb such significant cost increases over such a short timescale".

"The effect will be to increase inflation, slow pay growth, cause shop closures, and reduce jobs, especially at the entry level."

However, Nadine Houghton, GMB Union national officer, said larger businesses "pleading poverty" was "utterly pathetic".

“Most of these companies’ fortunes are already subsidised by the taxpayer. They pay very low wages which then have to be topped up by in-work benefits," she added.

“It’s only right that they should now contribute a bit more to rebuilding our country.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp816jrnynyo

[Kptlt. Neuerburg]

Who would of thought that Jezza would be a man of the people?

[Jimbuna]

Well certainly not me

[Jimbuna]

Liar liar pants on fire.

Rachel Reeves' 'fake claim' over charity 'economist' role

Rachel Reeves claimed she was an 'economist' on official documents - despite not working as one at the time, it emerged last night.

Documents show she stated her 'business occupation' to be an 'economist' on an appointment form for a charity in 2008.

The now-Chancellor was working at the Halifax Bank of Scotland at the time. She has recently changed her LinkedIn CV to clarify that she was not working as an 'economist' at the time.

Last week it emerged that she had deleted 'economist' from her profile work experience and changed it to 'retail banking' during her time at the bank in 2006-9.

Last night a Tory source said: 'Rachel Reeves has serious questions to answer - questions we have asked her, and questions which the public deserve an answer to.'

But a Treasury source said: 'Rachel Reeves was a trained economist that worked in financial services.'

It comes after Ms Reeves' claim in an interview with Stylist magazine from 2021 that she had spent a decade at the Bank of England, when her LinkedIn account described it as a six-year period between 2000 and 2006, was contested.

Downing Street refused to say whether Ms Reeves broke the ministerial code amid accusations she embellished her CV.

On Monday, No10 sidestepped a question over whether lying on a CV is a breach of the code - but instead praised Ms Reeves for having 'restored fiscal stability'.

A No10 spokeswoman added: 'This is someone who on coming into office looked under the bonnet and exposed a £22 billion black hole in the public finances, and has been straight with the public about what is necessary to balance the books and restore financial stability in the face of that.'

Ms Reeves' LinkedIn profile lists her work history from 2000 onwards.

The latest documents were obtained by the Guido Fawkes website.

It says she worked in three areas of the Bank over the six-year period she was employed there: its international economic analysis division, then at the British Embassy in Washington DC in the second secretary economic division, and finally in the structural economic analysis division.

After this it lists her time working for Halifax Bank of Scotland, then her political career following her election in 2010.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/othe...bcc7d30b&ei=39

[Jimbuna]

Two tier and two faced Keir Starmer is at it again with taxpayers money.

Starmer saddles taxpayers with his £15k ‘nanny tax’ bill

Sir Keir Starmer will saddle the taxpayer with a £15,100 “nanny tax” bill as he hires four new housekeepers for No 10.

Labour has come under repeated fire for its National Insurance (NI) raid which campaigners say will disproportionately hurt families hiring household help such as nannies, cleaners and gardeners. The phenomenon has been dubbed the “nanny tax”.

But Telegraph analysis shows the Prime Minister will be stung by his own measure as he seeks to employ four new housekeepers on salaries of £30,135 per year at his Downing Street home.

From April, employers will see the rate of National Insurance they pay on workers’ earnings rise from 13.8pc to 15pc. The salary threshold at which it kicks in will also fall from £9,100 to £5,000.

It means the total National Insurance bill for Starmer’s four new cleaners will rise by £3,465 to £15,076 per year.

Certain employers are eligible for an allowance, but those hiring staff for domestic purposes, such as nannies, housekeepers and gardeners, will feel the full weight of the tax increase.

No 10 ‘shielded’ from impact of National Insurance rise
In Sir Keir’s case, however, it will be the taxpayer rather than the Prime Minister himself that foots the bill.

Joanna Marchong, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Taxpayers will be exasperated that No 10 is entirely shielded against the impact of the National Insurance rise.

“While the increase in the jobs tax will make hiring staff more expensive, No 10 can simply tap up the Treasury for funding, a luxury the private sector does not have.

“Keir Starmer should not be insulated from the consequences of his actions.”

The employer National Insurance bill per employee will stand at £2,903 when the four housekeepers start in December. Come April, this will rise to £3,769 – bringing the total to £15,076 for the four new starters.

The roles, which are to replace staff members who have recently left, are not personal cleaners for the Prime Minister.

A Government job advert for the position says successful applicants will work to “deliver excellent service to the Prime Minister”.

It adds housekeepers “have the opportunity to work at the heart of government and to support the Prime Minister’s team in a unique and historic environment, ensuring delivery of the highest quality services”.

It comes after campaigners warned Labour’s “nanny tax will hit working parents hardest” and possibly encourage parents to leave the workforce to look after their children.

Joeli Brearley, head of charity Pregnant Then Screwed, previously told The Telegraph: “For many, employing a nanny isn’t a luxury but a necessity to keep their careers going. With this added expense, we risk pushing more parents, especially single parents and mothers, out of the workforce.”

The cost of hiring a nanny has soared in recent years and stands at £46,228 for families in London, according to Nannytax, a payroll service.

The current average National Insurance bill is £5,124, but it will surge to £6,184 from April.

Dozens of Britain’s biggest retailers have warned the Government that its National Insurance raid will cause staff to be laid off and shops to be shut.

Major companies including Tesco, M&S, Boots and B&Q have written to the Chancellor saying that job losses were now “inevitable”, as a result of the “sheer scale” of the new costs on business.

No 10 was approached for comment.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/othe...845aad8f&ei=25

[Jimbuna]

Well, you know what is likely to happen when you give guns to monkeys.

Labour declares war on UK economy - brace yourself for 2025 recession

The obvious answer is yes, Liz Truss was even worse. But Truss was gone in 49 days while it looks like we're stuck with Labour all the way to 2029.

I'm not sure we can stand another five days of this, let alone five years. Just about everything Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves have done since winning the election on July 5 has backfired at speed. Just wait until Energy Secretary Ed Miliband gets going.

Within days of taking power, Starmer and Reeves sunk the tentative UK recovery, by talking down the economy and talking up the £22billion "black hole" they claim to have found in the nation's accounts. Which suddenly became £40billion.

The UK's lords of chaos triggered widespread panic by threatening a barrage of tax hikes and spending cuts in the Autumn Budget on October 30.

Businesses ceased investing and hiring. Consumers stopped spending. Landlords raced to sell buy-to-lets while wealthy foreign entrepreneurs booked their flights.

The result? Starmer had promised a "laser-like focus" on getting the economy growing but instead zapped it dead almost instantly.

In the first three months on Labour's watch, from July 1 to September 30, GDP grew by a meagre 0.1%.

That was down from a brisk 0.7% in the first quarter and 0.5% in the second.

Labour instantly turned the UK from the top performing country in the G7 to the second worst. In just three months.

The economy actually shrank by 0.1% in September. If it continues to shrink in the final quarter, we're on course for a technical recession in 2025.

All this is down to what Labour did before the Budget. Afterwards, all hell broke loose.

Reeves unleashed a brutal £40billion tax blitz. This included a £25billion raid on businesses, by hiking employers' National Insurance (NI) bills.

On Monday, 80 of the UK's biggest businesses defied Treasury threats and penned an open letter to Reeves warning job losses were "inevitable" due to the sheer scale of the NI hike.

Deutsche Bank has even put a figure on how many will lose their jobs as a direct result: 100,000.

During the election, Reeves promised she wouldn't increase NI on "working people", but working people will ultimately foot the bill, as employers pass on the cost by cutting wages and hiking prices.

As if that wasn't enough, Reeves used the Budget to borrow an extra £30billion, which she justified by fiddling the fiscal rules. Another promise broken.

Yesterday, we learned that October's consumer price inflation figure had rebounded to 2.3%, the highest level in six months.

There's worse to come.

The Bank of England says inflation will hit 2.5% by the end of the year. After Budget tax hikes come into force in April, it will head towards 3%. Planned interest rate cuts will now be scrapped.

The cost-of-living crisis is back and is set to get worse. Especially with Reeves' inheritance tax war on farmers threatening food production.

Energy prices are set to rise again in January and again in April. They could climb higher still as energy secretary Ed Miliband's war on North Sea oil leaves us hooked on costly fossil fuel imports.

Labour has created chaos in short order, and I haven't even mentioned the Winter Fuel Payment debacle. It needs to rethink. Everything.

If we do tip back into recession next year, Starmer and Reeves won't be able to blame the Tories. This one will be down to them.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/othe...efbf4709&ei=12

[Jimbuna]

Keir Starmer's crusading clampdown is an obsession - he must stop this now

In a chilling reminder of the dangers facing free speech, British journalist Allison Pearson recently had police knocking at her door on Armistice Day. Her "crime"? A year-old social media post.

Not exactly the stuff warranting a response from law enforcement, but under the new Labour Government led by Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, dissenting voices - especially those critical of left-wing agendas - appear to be attracting police attention.

What does it say about Labour's values when journalists, writers, and even ordinary citizens fear a police visit simply for expressing views that stray from the Government's own ideology? This political policing is emblematic of a Labour leadership intent on suppressing opposing voices.

Starmer, Cooper, and the rest of Labour's team have ushered in a chilling era of anarcho-tyranny, where the police seem more eager to chase down "thought crimes" than to address actual violent offenses.

When people are penalised for innocuous social media posts, yet genuine attacks on police officers - like those seen recently at Manchester Airport - are left unpunished, one question becomes painfully clear. What kind of justice is this?

Since Labour's victory in July, we've seen a swift politicisation of the police force and judicial system. But this policing isn't aimed at every group; it's selective, protecting certain groups while disproportionately targeting others.

In one glaring example, a Labour councillor who incited violent acts against rioters has faced little repercussion to date. Yet, in stark contrast, the wife of a Conservative councillor was hastily sentenced to an astonishing 31 months in prison for a first-time offence.

This two-tiered system lays bare Labour's commitment to a single principle: an attack on free speech. This crackdown on expression is turning Britain into a suppressed nation.

It's no wonder Toby Young's Free Speech Union has seen a huge surge in membership. People are seeking sanctuary and support in an organisation that defends their right to express ideas - ideas that should be the lifeblood of a democratic society.

Under the current Labour regime, this right is under siege. The Free Speech Union is now forced to stand as a barrier against cancel culture and political intimidation. With the scales tipped so dramatically in one direction, it's only a matter of time before free speech in the UK becomes a thing of the past.

Starmer's Labour isn't just indifferent to free speech; it's hostile. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, as Labour's enforcers, have overseen a justice system where peaceful protesters and independent voices are scrutinised, yet actual criminals escape real accountability - or are let out early and in some cases to immediately reoffend.

And if you fall outside Labour's circle of approved thought, watch out. Cooper and Mahmood's selective enforcement makes a mockery of Britain's values, undermining the justice system itself.

Labour's fear of free speech is rooted in its fear of free thought. Journalists, columnists, and citizens who are willing to speak truth to power are obstacles to a government bent on ideological control.

Labour wants compliance, and those who challenge the narrative are dealt with swiftly and with prejudice. Labour's so-called "progressive" Britain is nothing more than a sanitised echo chamber.

Britain deserves a government that respects its citizens' rights, one that stands for genuine free speech, not selective censorship. Starmer and Cooper have shown their true colours. If this Labour dystopia continues, British free thought and debate will become relics of a bygone era.

The time has come to defend the right to speak freely and reject Labour's authoritarian agenda before we lose these freedoms entirely.

When journalists are dissuaded from speaking their minds out of fear of unwarranted and disproportionate police action, free thought dies.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other...e4b6e7f4&ei=16