UK Politics Thread part II

[Moonlight]

EXCLUSIVE Revealed: Under-fire Treasury Minister lied about £700,000 flat gift TWO YEARS ago as she faces calls to quit amid bribery scandal

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

Anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq forgot how she obtained a two-bedroom apartment in London, yes, I can believe that Tulip, and I also believe there are fairies living in the bird boxes I put up last year for the blue tits.
Who ever believes that hogwash she's spouting now needs a bullet to the bleeding forehead, resign you stupid pillock and try not to squeak when you walk.
One thing I've learned about prats like Tulip, is that they think they can get away with this kind of deception and beat the system. Dirty deeds like this one will always come under the most intense scrutiny and it will all fall apart for her very quickly when it's revealed.

Prat Rating 8.5\10

Dear me Tulip, go and slither under a rock for a few years will you.

[Jimbuna]

DWP PIP and DLA claimants lose £750 from January as benefit scrapped

People claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will lose a £750 benefit from January.

A one-off payment of £750 was given to people with disabilities to help them get a brand new car on the Motability Scheme, but the New Vehicle Payment has now been scrapped.

It was introduced to help benefit claimants manage with the increasing price of new cars and was paid as a lump sum towards an advance payment on a new vehicle.

Mobility vehicles are available to people on the higher rate mobility components of PIP and DLA, or Adult Disability Payment (ADP) and Child Disability Payment (CDP) for those in Scotland. Those on the veterans' benefits Armed Forces Independence Payment and War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement also qualify.

Under the Motability Scheme, if the car you chose had an advance payment Mobility would send £750 to your dealer to put towards this cost. If the advance was more than £750 then you'd have to pay the difference, and if it was less than £750 then you'd be sent the rest of the cash after you got your new car to spend how you chose.

The money could only be used towards the cost of your car's advance payment, but couldn't be used to pay for adaptions or optional extras.

The New Vehicle Payment was due to end on December 31, 2024 for new customers, but the deadline was extended until January 3, 2025 to give claimants the chance to order if car dealerships were closed over Christmas.

This deadline has now passed meaning PIP and DLA claimants who order a new car will no longer qualify for the £750 cash.

In a statement, Motability warned: "Anyone who orders their first car or Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) by 3 January 2025 will qualify for the £750 New Vehicle Payment.

"If you order your first vehicle from 4 January 2025, you will not be eligible for this payment.

You do not have to collect your vehicle by 3 January 2025, but you must have completed your order with your dealer by this date. You'll only get this payment once, not every time you get a new vehicle."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/othe...d2491175&ei=27

[Jimbuna]

Channel crossings to explode as ruthless people smuggling gangs to ramp up trips

Ruthless foreign people smuggling gangs are expected to mount a "big Springtime push" to traffic tens of thousands of desperate migrants across the English Channel.

Over 20,000 migrants have arrived on small boats since Labour took power, up from 17,000 over the same period last year with 30,000 in the past 12 months.

But experts fear this number could rocket once the current winter months has passed with organised crime gangs profiting from the highly lucrative business of ferrying people over the channel in jam-packed flimsy rubber vessels which has allowed them to dramatically increase their business model.

Rob Jones, the NCA's director general for operations, said: "We expect, again, a very big push from organised crime to pull migrants through routes into the English Channel."

In a bid to try and prevent the impending tsunami British police have opened talks with China to request a crackdown on the manufacture and export of the small boat engines that are being used by the gangs.

The UK National Crime Agency said more than 50 improvised boats and engines have been intercepted and seized since early 2023.

They also seized about 450 engines early last year, the bulk of which are stored in Germany before being used in Channel crossings.

NCA investigators aim to build a case to convince the Chinese that engines are largely being used to illegally transport thousands of migrants across the Channel - and putting their lives at risk because the low-powered motors - designed for lakes - are being attached..

They have found that rigid-hulled vessels with proper engines that held around 12 people have almost entirely been phased out by gangs in favour of bigger but flimsier craft holding as many as 60 people.

He said the boats being used now were are "rubber dinghies that are little more than a paddling pool" with the small Chinese-built engines attached.

He blamed these lower quality boats for a record number of deaths, with more than 70 people killed while trying to cross the Channel this past year.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/new...c38e2abf&ei=96

[Dargo]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

Channel crossings to explode as ruthless people smuggling gangs to ramp up trips

Guess which state(s) fund and organize these migration waves

[Jimbuna]

[Jimbuna]

You'd need to grow a pair before you'd consider anything of that nature Two Tier

Starmer urged to scrap funding for Musk’s firms after billionaire receives £190m from UK taxpayers

Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure to cut Elon Musk’s access to government contracts and funding after the billionaire’s firms raked in more than £190m of taxpayer cash since 2016.

The prime minister is facing calls to prevent the Tesla tycoon’s companies benefiting from taxpayer-funded grants, subsidies and contracts in future after his repeated outbursts against the government over grooming gangs and criminal justice.

Despite his repeated attacks on the PM and his top team, Mr Musk’s Tesla has received £191m from the public purse since 2016, with £188.3m coming from Department for Transport grants designed to increase uptake of plug-in electric vehicles, The Independent can reveal.

The remainder of the government’s spend on Tesla was through local authorities such as the Scottish government purchasing Tesla vehicles and leasing charging points.

The government and local authorities have also spent nearly £300,000 on X, formerly Twitter, since 2016, with the platform having been taken over by Mr Musk for £38bn in 2022. Some £60,000 of this was spent by the Cabinet Office on Brexit-related comms efforts.

The figures, compiled for The Independent by procurement specialists Tussell, led to furious calls for Sir Keir to cut ties with Mr Musk’s sprawling business empire, denying the billionaire access to future taxpayer grants, subsidies and contracts.

Labour MP Joe Powell, chair of parliament’s cross-party anti-corruption group, said it is “ironic that Musk’s companies have benefitted from nearly £200m of UK taxpayers’ money in subsidies and grants over recent years”.

He told The Independent: “If he is so critical of UK government policies, perhaps he should consider returning the money his companies have pocketed and focus on his business ventures instead of interfering in British politics.”

Alex Sobel praised Sir Keir for calling out Mr Musk’s lies and misinformation about grooming gangs, his record as director of public prosecutions and safeguarding minister Jess Phillips.

And the Labour MP called for an end to any taxpayer handouts for Mr Musk. He told The Independent: “The prime minister has shown the leadership that voters expect from a Labour government in stark contrast to that of the Tories and the populist right that have opportunistically sought to jump on the bandwagon of reckless and baseless claims.

“Corporate giants cannot be allowed to attempt to override democracy by stoking up division and inflaming tensions.”

Independent MP Richard Burgon told The Independent: “Given Elon Musk has been suggesting that the elected British government should be overthrown, surely this funding has to be halted.

“Any company lucky enough to receive British state support needs to respect our democracy, not agitate against it. Cutting off further funding should be the first step of the bold moves needed to prevent Musk and other billionaires from using their vast wealth to interfere in our politics.”

Sir Keir on Monday accused Mr Musk of spreading lies about grooming gangs and warned the billionaire, as well as the Conservatives and Reform UK, have “crossed a line”.

Without naming Mr Musk directly, the PM said: “Those that are spreading lies and misinformation as far and wide as possible are not interested in victims, they’re interested in themselves.”

He attacked Mr Musk over his claims Ms Phillips is a “rape genocide apologist” who should be in prison.

He added: “When the poison of the far right leads to serious threats, to Jess Phillips and others, that in my book, means a line has been crossed.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey went further, calling for the government to summon the US ambassador to raise Mr Musk’s tweets.

The call was in response to the tech billionaire, who will be a key member of Donald Trump’s administration when the president-elect takes office this month, suggesting the US should overthrow the British government.

And Lib Dem MP Caroline Voaden told The Independent: “Time and time again, Elon Musk has shown not only a lack of understanding about the rules and norms of the democracies he’s interfering in, but also of the very subjects he is campaigning on.

“Summoning the US ambassador to ask about the actions of an incoming US official is an obvious move.

“But the government must also consider the subsidies and grants handed out to Musk’s companies, a whopping £190m of them since 2016. Since Musk regards himself as a man of such high principles, I’m sure he’d agree it’s wrong for him or his companies to financially benefit from a government he’s so clearly opposed to.”

Tesla, X, and the government have been approached for comment.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknew...3e57e407&ei=16

[Gorpet]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

You'd need to grow a pair before you'd consider anything of that nature Two Tier

To be fair the Starmer administration should be open and transparent on how many wealthy british millionaires bought and own a Tesla since 2014. And how taxpayer money paid for the charging stations that allow them to leave their Estates and run into town and around the countryside. Also did the taxpayer pay for charging stations at the wealthy and politician's residences ? OH baby,if transparency could be transparent.Wouldn't that be a Government toppling event?
I can not believe that society of people who stood together thru 2 world wars. And all the wars in their history and the culture of their society.Would in 80 years become a subservient to any country on this planet.And have their culture and identity wiped out by their own people. But we have it going on right here in America, Americans are tired of the word Democracy. Our country is a Republic for which it stands. Res Publica. And Brits will always be our kin nothing can change that but a bunch of Wealthy that cares for nothing.But themselves and their offspring.

[Jimbuna]

Bond investors are taking revenge on Rachel Reeves for Labour's lies - they won't stop now

The bond market is the most powerful force in the financial world. It can break governments, if it chooses. And now it's training its firepower on Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Governments are dependent on the bond market. It's how they raise money to fund spending. If investors stop buying their bonds, all hell breaks loose.

Bond markets stop governments from playing fast and loose with a country's finances, as Labour has been doing since the election. It's an essential job.

So-called "bond vigilantes" discipline excessive government spending by demanding higher yields to buy their bonds. And that's what they're doing to us right now.

Bond investors are big global institutions that need somewhere safe to park the huge sums at their disposal.

When they buy UK government bonds, known as gilts, they want to be certain their money is safe.

Under Reeves, they're not certain. So they're demanding more interest to offset the risk.

Bond investors believe Labour pulled a fast one during the election, by pledging stability and growth.

Instead they've wrecked both.

Our credibility is sunk and bond investors feel like they've been mugged. So they're giving the country a brutal punishment beating. This is only the start.

It seems incredible now, but when Sir Keir Starmer was elected bond markets were happy. They thought Labour would bring stability after Tory turmoil.

Reeves launched a huge a charm offensive, assuring businesses that Labour wasn't run by hard-left Corbynites who would blow up the economy.

Bond markets took Reeves at her word. Now we will feel their wrath.

Yields on 10-year gilts slid to around 3.75% after the July election. Yesterday they nudged 4.9% as the penny belatedly dropped that Reeves doesn't know what she's doing.

Higher gilt yields will add an estimated £10billion to UK borrowing costs, blowing a hole in Reeves' fiscal plans and forcing her to cut spending or hike taxes to make her sums add up.

Unless Starmer and Reeves get a grip, gilt yields could rise past 5% in short order and head towards 6%.

To put that into perspective, Greece only pays 3.32%. Despite its problems, bond markets trust the Greeks a lot more than they trust us.

The problem is, I don't think Starmer and Reeves will get a grip. They are arrogant and out of their depth.

Reeves plans to issue a staggering £300billion of gilts this year, at the highest rates of interest in decades. Most of the money will vanish into unreformed public services or the back pockets of the public sector unions.

It will do nothing to boost growth.

Reeves still thinks she can lie her way out of this. It's worked for her so far. She keeps claiming against all the evidence that she has restored economic stability.

Bond markets won't swallow it any longer. They've had enough of Labour's nonsense. Unlike the rest of us, they can do something about it. And they are.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/othe...df7ee09f&ei=81

[Jimbuna]

NI raid could force over HALF of British businesses to raise prices

More than half of British businesses plan to raise prices in response to Labour’s £25bn National Insurance raid, a Bank of England poll revealed yesterday.

The figures provide the latest evidence of how firms are scrambling to respond to the tax hike.

They come as the boss of Marks & Spencer said it would be a challenge, revealing that the high street giant would have to rethink its recruitment and investment plans after the shock increase and would aim to pass on ‘as little as possible’ to customers.

Shares in M&S and other retailers fell yesterday amid warnings of economic uncertainty ahead.

The Bank of England decision maker panel - a survey of more than 2,000 firms carried out last month - showed 54 per cent expected to put up prices in response to the NI hike.

It also found that 41 per cent planned to reduce employee wages, flying in the face of Rachel Reeves’s claim that the increase would not affect workers’ pay slips.

And 53 per cent say they will reduce their number of employees while 64 per cent said they would take a hit to profits.

It comes after the Chancellor stunned businesses by announcing in her Budget in October last year that the employer rate of national insurance would rise from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent. At the same time, the salary threshold for having to pay employer NI was reduced from £9,100 to £5,000.

The change has had a major impact on retailers, who employ many lower paid and part-time staff.

A forecast from the British Retail Consortium yesterday predicted that food prices would rise by 4.2 per cent later this year as firms grapple with higher costs.

M&S, which has previously revealed that it will take a £120 million hit as a result of the Budget - half from the NI hike and the rest from the increase in the minimum wage - outlined the pressure it faced as it delivered an update on recent sales yesterday.

Boss Stuart Machin said the company had been forced to ‘rework’ its plans for coming years as a result of the NI hike, which it ‘didn’t plan’ for.

Mr Machin said he did not expect this to mean ‘big job losses’.

But he added: ‘Does it make us look at how we recruit? Of course it does, and that does mean we have to think about where we invest.’

Meanwhile Tesco, Britain’s biggest supermarket, confirmed a £250 million impact from the NI hike alone as it published trading figures.

Chief executive Ken Murphy said the company would ‘do our very best’ to reduce the impact on prices.

Tesco said it was not planning to make changes to its workforce or hiring plans.

And high street bakery chain Greggs has raised the prices of sausage rolls, coffee and doughnuts in the face of increased costs.

The price of a Greggs sausage roll has gone up by 5p to £1.30 having been just £1 as recently as 2022.

Chief executive Roisin Currie said the company was facing higher costs following the rise in the minimum wage and increase in national insurance contributions announced in the Budget.

‘We have had to pass a minimum amount of price rises onto customers but we work hard to protect as many prices as we can,’ she said.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/othe...df7ee09f&ei=78

[Dargo]

Gas storages in the UK are currently only half full. That converts to a week's gas consumption for the whole country. This means gas stocks are a quarter lower than around the same time last year. The British have been struggling with extreme cold and heavy snowfall for almost a week now, which has caused gas consumption to skyrocket. Last night, temperatures dipped well below freezing, and temperatures as low as -20 degrees are expected in Scotland and northern England for the coming night. The cold weather is accompanied by prolonged wind lulls, causing wind farms to generate less electricity than normal. As a result, UK energy suppliers have to use extra gas to maintain electricity supplies.

Another factor is high gas prices, partly due to Ukraine's decision to close a Russian gas pipeline running across its territory. With higher prices, UK energy companies are having more difficulty replenishing their supplies this winter. The situation in not unique to the UK. Other European countries are also experiencing lower gas stocks compared to a year ago. In the European Union, gas storages are 69 per cent full. Around this time last year, the figure was 84 per cent. Yet the UK is particularly vulnerable. The British have 10 per cent less storage capacity than countries like Germany, the Netherlands and France. It explains why their gas reserves are significantly smaller than their European neighbours. Although the new Labour government wants to accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuels, the British are still very dependent on gas. At least 28 million households use gas boilers for heating and hot water and 40 per cent of Britain's electricity is generated from gas.

By far the most important and largest gas storage facility is the Rough facility, which lies under the seabed off the English east coast. The company Centrica, which is the operator of Rough, has been asking the government for years for additional investment to expand the storage capacity. ‘UK gas reserves are worryingly low. In Europe, the Netherlands is an outlier when it comes to the role storage plays in our energy system. We are now seeing the consequences of that,’ Centrica boss Chris O'Shea said in a statement. Energy experts warned that the UK was balancing on the brink of an energy ‘blackout’ this week, but the government contradicts that. ‘We are confident that we have sufficient gas supplies and electricity capacity to meet demand this winter thanks to our diverse and resilient energy system,’ a spokesman for Prime Minister Starmer said. The pressure on that system will continue for now. According to British weather services, the country will remain in the grip of bitterly cold weather at least until Sunday.

[Jimbuna]

In light of the lies and broken promises by this current Labour government I wouldn't believe a word they utter and this is from a fomer ongstanding party member who once counted the former Foreign Secretary (previous Labour government) as a close friend.

[Jimbuna]

Could this be next on an evergrowing list of betrayals?

Labour planning to axe billions from disability benefits bill

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is planning to slash billions of pounds in disability benefits in order to calm Britain's debts crisis.

Downing Street is said to believe that significant reductions are needed in the welfare budget, namely from personal independence payments (PIP).

Yesterday, the pound fell sharply against the dollar and the Government's borrowing rates rose to a 27-year high.

There were also warnings that the growing crisis could hit mortgage rates if it continues.

Now, Ms Reeves is said to have made it clear to the Treasury that she wants to get 'tough' on spending - meaning cutting areas in unprotected departments - rather than considering new tax rises, the Telegraph reports.

The annual cost of support payments for people with disabilities and health conditions is expected to increase from £22billion to £35billion by 2029.

Meanwhile, former Treasury select committee chairman Harriet Baldwin accused Ms Reeves of 'fleeing to China' after the Chancellor flew into Beijing to meet the nation's communist leaders while Britain's borrowing costs soared.

She told the Mail: 'The Chancellor needs to take responsibility for the ongoing ramifications of her Budget choices and return to face Parliament.'

Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey added: 'Instead of jetting off to China, the Chancellor should urgently come before the House of Commons to cancel her counter-productive jobs tax and set out a real plan for growth.'

In a highly unusual move, the Treasury issued a public statement on Wednesday reassuring the markets that the Chancellor's commitment to her fiscal rules was 'non-negotiable' and that she would maintain an 'iron grip' on the public finances.

Treasury sources said she was drawing up contingency plans for emergency spending cuts if a new forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility in March shows she is on course to break her own debt rules.

Treasury chief secretary Darren Jones, who took her place in the Commons yesterday, repeated the commitment to the fiscal rules – and suggested spending would be squeezed if borrowing costs forced the public finances off course.

Mr Jones played down the significance of recent market turmoil, saying it was 'normal for the price and yields of gilts to vary when there are wider movements in global financial markets'.

And he defended the Chancellor's trip to China, describing it as 'an important visit for trade and investment in the UK economy'.

On Wednesday, the pound slumped close to $1.22 versus the US dollar, the lowest level since November 2023 – adding to sharp falls the previous day. One City analyst joked that sterling's slide suggested it was becoming the 'Great British peso'.

Yields on UK ten-year bonds climbed above 4.9 per cent, a fresh 17-year high, while yields on 30-year bonds rose above 5.4 per cent, the highest since 1998.

Eva Sun-Wai, a fund manager at M&G Investments, said: 'The worry is that investors have just lost faith in the UK as a place to put their assets.'
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/othe...11e3195a&ei=20

[Jimbuna]

She's definitely clutching at straws now.

Chinese investment of £600 million in UK ‘a start’, says Cabinet minister

China committing to putting £600 million in the UK is “a start” and “will lead to future investment”, a Cabinet minister has said.

Science Secretary Peter Kyle said the Chancellor has returned with “solid commitments for investment” as the Government commits to “rebuilding the relationship with China”.

Rachel Reeves has been criticised by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats for going ahead with the planned visit following turbulence on the UK gilt markets.

Increases in the Government’s borrowing costs have sparked concern that she will be unable to meet her debt and spending targets, with the Tories saying Ms Reeves had “absented” herself when “bond yields are rocketing up”.

Mr Kyle said the UK has to reset its relationship with Beijing “in a way that delivers for our economy” while keeping “our country safe and resilient”, as China’s actions in Hong Kong and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have also been raised by opposition parties as barriers to more economic engagement.

He told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “These are difficult issues to manage.

“I think what we have seen, for the Chancellor to go over there, represent Britain on the world stage, come back with solid commitments for investment, but she also managed to raise the human rights issues that I think everybody in this country is concerned about.

“Now the alternative is this, that we sit here and we don’t engage, we don’t come back with even £600 million which will lead to future investment into the future (sic).

“So is the answer that it’s not big enough just to do nothing?

“That’s what the Tories are saying, they are saying she shouldn’t go, we shouldn’t have any engagement.

“This is our fourth biggest trading partner.”
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknew...1153638d&ei=78

[Jimbuna]

Rachel Reeves 'very depressed' and 'can't see way out' of UK economy woes

Rachel Reeves is reportedly feeling "very depressed" and "can't see a way out" amid UK economic turmoil.

Increases in the Government's borrowing costs have sparked concern that the Chancellor will be unable to meet her fiscal rules.

A source told The Times: "She's got choices to make and she knows they're all s***."

But shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said: "Rachel is apparently feeling depressed.

"Imagine how pensioners, farmers, businesses, families - and in fact everyone whose money or job she has taken away - feel.

"Bad socialist choices coming home to roost."

Ms Reeves has vowed to "take action" to meet her debt and spending targets which is reported to include deeper spending cuts and slashing the welfare bill.

The Chancellor has previously ruled out further tax rises after hiking taxes by £40 billion at the Budget in October.

It comes after turbulence on the gilt markets, where yields reached their highest level since 2008 last week.

The chaos overshadowed Ms Reeves's trip to China as she faced criticism for going ahead with the visit.

The Chancellor also came under fire for returning with just £600 million of investment.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/othe...044ba3c1&ei=22

[Jimbuna]