Liz Truss says she has ‘absolutely no shame’ in performing tax cut U-turn

Published

3 years ago

October 4, 2022

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Liz Truss says she had “absolutely no shame” in performing a dramatic U-turn on the government’s plan to scrap the 45p higher rate of tax.

The prime minister told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby she “took the decision very rapidly” to axe the policy, which was “becoming a distraction” from the rest of the government’s economic agenda.

But Home Secretary Suella Braverman told a Conservative Party fringe event hosted by The Telegraph that she was “very disappointed” by the policy reversal, adding that “members of our own parliamentary party staged a coup, effectively”.

Responding to Ms Braverman’s remarks, Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary Simon Clarke also revealed that he objects to the U-turn, stating: “Suella speaks a lot of good sense, as usual.”

Ms Truss’s U-turn came on Monday morning – more than a week after the mini-budget on 23 September.

Politics Hub: Truss refuses to say if she trusts chancellor

The tax cut for the wealthiest 1% was one of a series of proposals in the government’s tax-cutting mini-budget that prompted turmoil in the markets over the past week, with the pound reaching record lows against the dollar.

The policy also received a bitter backlash from Tory MPs and the public, with Labour surging to opinion poll leads not seen since the early 2000s.

Ms Truss told Sky News that removing the 45p tax rate for those earning £150,000 or more “wasn’t a priority policy” for the government.

“I listened to people and I think there’s absolutely no shame in a leader listening to people and responding,” Ms Truss said. “And that’s the kind of person I am, and I’ve been totally honest and upfront with people.

“But everything I’ve done as prime minister is focused on helping people get through what is a very difficult winter and very difficult circumstances and putting our country on a stronger footing in the future.”

Announcing the U-turn yesterday, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng said: “We have listened.”

In an earlier broadcast round on Tuesday morning, the PM repeated refused to say whether she trusted the chancellor following the 45p tax rate U-turn, instead saying the two work “very closely”.

Ms Truss was also probed on whether she supports increasing benefits in line with inflation, replying that a decision “will be made in due course”.

Ms Truss is facing a fresh battle with Conservative MPs over a potential benefits squeeze and cuts to public spending, after already being forced into making a policy U-turn on her tax cuts yesterday.

The PM has not ruled out a real-terms cut to benefits.

Penny Mordaunt became the first cabinet minister to openly oppose the idea of not uprating benefits with inflation, telling Times Radio: “I’ve always supported – whether it’s pensions, whether it’s our welfare system – keeping pace with inflation. It makes sense to do so. That’s what I voted for before.”

The leader of the House of Commons added: “We want to make sure that people are looked after and that people can pay their bills. We are not about trying to help people with one hand and take away with another.”

But despite growing pressure to outline her position on the issue, Ms Truss reiterated numerous times on Tuesday morning that “no decision has been made”.

Benefits are usually uprated in line with the consumer price index (CPI) rate of inflation from September, with the rise coming into effect the following April.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that each percentage point rise in CPI adds £1.6 billion to welfare spending.

Speaking after Ms Truss’s interview round, former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said it “doesn’t make any sense” to not uprate benefits in line with inflation.

He told a Conservative party fringe event in Birmingham that he resigned as work and pensions secretary under former Conservative PM David Cameron in 2016 because the government had “lost the plot” over cuts to the welfare system and that it “would be a mistake to do that again”.

Earlier, Justice Secretary Brandon Lewis refused to give his position when asked about the government’s plans to uprate benefits on Sky News, telling Kay Burley: “There is a process around this that the Department for Work and Pensions, Chloe Smith, the secretary of state, works through.”

He said announcements will be made “over the autumn”, adding: “I’m not going to pre-judge what that will be.”

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Ship carrying aid for Gaza bombed by drones, as NGO points finger at Israel

Published

4 hours ago

May 2, 2025

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Ship carrying aid for Gaza bombed by drones, as NGO points finger at Israel

A ship carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza has been bombed by drones while it was in international waters.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the NGO responsible for the ship, has pointed the finger at Israel.

Video shows fire raging onboard the vessel, which put out an SOS distress call after it was attacked off the coast of Malta.

It comes as the case against Israel at the International Court of Justice continued this week.

Gaza remains under blockade, with Israel having now refused to allow international aid into the devastated enclave for almost two months despite global outcry.

Following the drone attack, the Maltese government confirmed that after several hours all crew were safe and the fire was under control.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said: “Israeli ambassadors must be summoned and answer to violations of international law, including the ongoing blockade (of Gaza) and the bombing of our civilian vessel in international waters.”

It asserted that the drone attack “appears to have specifically targeted the ship’s generator” and had left the vessel at risk of sinking.

Describing the attack, it said: “Armed drones attacked the front of an unarmed civilian vessel twice, causing a fire and a substantial breach in the hull.

“The last communication in the early morning of the 2nd of May, indicated the drones are still circling the ship.”

It released video footage shot in the dark that showed lights in the sky in front of the ship and the sound of explosions. The footage also showed the vessel on fire.

The Israeli foreign ministry has not commented on what happened.

Yesterday, UN aid coordinator Tom Fletcher called on Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza, which has been in force for almost two months.

“Yes, the hostages must be released, now. They should never have been taken from their families,” he said.

“But international law is unequivocal: As the occupying power, Israel must allow humanitarian support in.”

Aid should never be a “bargaining chip”, he added.

‘Children going to bed starving’

Juliette Touma, spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA said: “The siege on Gaza is the silent killer of children, of older people.

“Families – whole families, seven or eight people – are resorting to sharing one can of beans or peas. Imagine not having anything to feed your children. Children in Gaza are going to bed starving.”

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Germany’s far-right AfD party officially classified as ‘extremist’ organisation

Published

6 hours ago

May 2, 2025

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Germany's far-right AfD party officially classified as 'extremist' organisation

Germany’s spy agency has officially classified the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as an “extremist” organisation.

The party has been growing in popularity and came second in February’s general election.

The country’s domestic intelligence agency said on Friday that it was an extremist entity which threatens democracy.

Its 1,000-page internal report claimed views around ethnicity held by the AfD aim to exclude certain groups from equal participation in society.

“The party’s prevailing understanding of the people based on ethnicity and descent is incompatible with the free democratic basic order,” the agency said in a statement.

“Specifically, the AfD considers, for example, German citizens with a migration background from predominantly Muslim countries not equal members of the ethnically defined German people.”

AfD’s co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla described the decision as a “serious blow to German democracy”.

In a joint statement on Friday, they said: “The AfD is now being publicly discredited and criminalised as an opposition party shortly before the change of government.

“The associated, targeted interference in the democratic decision-making process is therefore clearly politically motivated. The AfD will continue to defend itself legally against this defamation that jeopardises democracy.”

The party leaders have consistently denied the party is either far right or extremist.

Local branches of the party in the east German states of Thuringia, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt had already been classified as extremist by regional spy chiefs.

The entire party was also previously designated “suspected” far-right extremist.

However, the announcement allows intelligence agencies to increase surveillance on the group.

It may also embolden opponents to try to get the party banned.

The decision was welcomed by the country’s interior minister, Nancy Faeser, who said in a statement that the new assessment was “clear and unequivocal”, adding that the party “discriminates against entire segments of the population and treats citizens with a migration background as second-class Germans”.

She underlined that “there has been no political influence on the findings” but said the new classification was likely to be subject to judicial review.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that although the intelligence agency has provided a “very detailed justification” for the decision, “ban proceedings must not be rushed”.

Anton Baron, a regional politician in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, described the decision as “politically questionable”.

While the ruling is a blow for the party, it is unlikely to influence hardcore supporters, many of whom live in states where the party was already designated extremist at a local level.

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Wildfire in Israel burns 5,000 acres as drivers forced to flee cars

Published

16 hours ago

May 2, 2025

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Wildfire in Israel burns 5,000 acres as drivers forced to flee cars

Emergency crews in Israel are battling a wildfire that sent smoke drifting over Jerusalem and forced drivers to run from their cars.

About 5,000 acres (20 square kilometres) have been scorched since the blaze started in the hills outside the city on Wednesday.

The ambulance service said at least 12 people had been treated in hospital, mainly for smoke inhalation, but the fire service said “miraculously” no homes had been damaged.

Ten firefighting planes were dropping fire retardant material on Thursday and authorities said eight more were due to arrive.

Spain, Italy, France, Croatia, Ukraine and Romania are among those sending aircraft.

People celebrating Israel‘s independence day on Thursday were advised to be exceptionally careful if holding barbecues and told to avoid forests and parks.

Most official celebrations were cancelled as security forces were diverted to the fire effort.

The blaze is the most significant the country has seen in the past decade, according to Tal Volvovitch, from the fire and rescue authority.

However, an evacuation order for about 12 towns near Jerusalem has been lifted and the main highway linking Jerusalem to Tel Aviv also reopened on Thursday.

A day earlier, drivers had to abandoned their vehicles when flames encroached on the road.

Firefighting is continuing but the blaze has now been mostly contained, said the Jewish National Fund, which manages forests in the country.

It said conditions had been perfect for fires to spread – hot and dry, little rain over winter, and strong, shifting winds.

“Of course when there’s a series of drought years, it’s a fertile ground for fires,” said the fund’s Anat Gold, adding that climate change was the likely cause.