Starmer refuses to commit to unfreezing tax thresholds if Labour wins election

Published

1 year ago

January 4, 2024

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Sir Keir Starmer has refused to commit to unfreezing tax thresholds if Labour wins the next general election, saying he won’t make promises he can’t keep.

However, the Labour leader was firmer in his position on inheritance tax, telling Sky News if the Tories reduce it, he will reverse that change because he does not believe “further tax cuts for those that are very wealthy” is the right way forward.

Politics Live: Rishi Sunak drops clearest hint yet on when election will be

He also warned the Tories he will meet their “fire with fire” as he expects Rishi Sunak will “go low” in a fiercely contested general election.

It comes after the prime minister indicated he will call the national vote in the second half of this year.

Sir Keir, who is about 20 points ahead in the polls, accused the Tory leader of “squatting in Downing Street” and called for an election “as soon as possible”.

When asked by our political editor Beth Rigby if a Labour government would commit to cutting taxes “on day one”, Sir Keir said his priority would be to grow the economy “because that’s been the single biggest failure of the last 14 years”.

He added: “We have said on taxes that we do want to lower the burden of working people, but that has got to be fair and it’s got to be affordable.

“And we’re likely to have a budget before the election, whatever the date is, so nobody quite knows the state of affairs.”

Pressed specifically on whether he would unfreeze tax thresholds – having criticised these as “stealth taxes” – he said: “I’m not going to make promises that I can’t keep.”

The government’s policy is to keep income tax and national insurance thresholds frozen until 2028, meaning millions of workers will be pushed into higher tax bands because of inflation.

Although Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has since announced a cut to National Insurance of two percentage points, the frozen tax thresholds mean the election will happen at a time when the tax burden is at a record post-war high.

Sir Keir challenged the claim the Tories are reversing tax rises, saying “they’ve taken £10 out your pocket, and put £2 back in”.

He said if the economy, which is at risk of recession, doesn’t grow, “we don’t get more wealth created in this country, then we are taxing an ever-reducing pie”.

Inheritance tax cut would be ‘tax cut for the wealthy’

While he refused to say whether he would change personal taxes or unfreeze the thresholds, Sir Keir was more firm on inheritance tax.

It has been reported the Tories could reduce this or even scrap it to create dividing lines with Labour and boost their chances of victory at the election.

Sir Keir said he would reverse any such changes the Tories make.

“I don’t think that further tax cuts for those that are very wealthy with nothing for working people is the right way forward.

“So I’d oppose it, it wouldn’t be what we would do, and of course we would change that if we got the opportunity to do so.”

‘Fight fire with fire’

Sir Keir was speaking after delivering a New Year’s speech in Bristol in which he told disillusioned and disaffected voters “things can be better” under Labour and rejected criticism he is being too cautious.

If his party wins the election, this would bring to an end 14 years of the Conservatives in power under five prime ministers and usher in the first elected Labour prime minister since Tony Blair in 2005.

With so much to play for, it is feared the general election campaign could get dirty and nasty, with the two main parties unleashing bitter personal attacks on their opponent’s leader.

Labour already faced criticism last year for a series of personal attacks on the prime minister, accusing Mr Sunak of not wanting to see child sex abusers jailed because of his law and order record.

But Sir Keir stood by this approach, telling Beth Rigby he is focused on making a positive case, but: “They [the Tories] will go low. What I’m saying is if they want to go with fire into this election, we will meet their fire with fire.”

He added that it was justified because “the stakes at this election are so high for working people”.

“We have to win this election and bring about the change that is so desperately needed by the country.”

UK

VE Day: Veterans to join King for tea party as Keir Starmer praises ‘selfless dedication’

Published

1 hour ago

May 5, 2025

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VE Day: Veterans to join King for tea party as Keir Starmer praises 'selfless dedication'

Veterans are set to join the King for a VE Day tea party today as the prime minister has paid tribute to the “selfless dedication” of the war generation.

Among them will be a 99-year-old who took part in the D-Day landings and a 100-year-old woman who worked in the Special Operations Executive, known as Churchill’s Secret Army.

Director general of the Royal British Legion, Mark Atkinson, said the charity was “proud” to be taking a place “at the heart of these national celebrations and commemorations” on the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

He said it would be “one of our last opportunities as a nation to pay tribute to those veterans still with us today”.

Evacuees from World War Two and veterans who were still in active conflict after VE Day are among the other guests set to attend the tea party, which will take place in the presence of the King and other members of the Royal Family.

At 12pm, the Royal Family will observe a military procession, followed by a flypast.

It will be the first major VE Day anniversary without any of the royals who stood on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on the day victory in Europe was declared, after the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.

‘Not just for Britain’

The celebrations come as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer praised veterans for their “selfless dedication” and thanked them for a “debt that can never fully be repaid” in an open letter ahead of VE Day.

He said the stories which will be heard this week from those who fought in the Second World War would be a reminder that the victory “was not just for Britain” but was also “a victory for good against the assembled forces of hatred, tyranny and evil”.

Sir Keir said the WW2 veterans “represent the best of who we are” and that without their service “the freedom, peace and joy that these celebrations embody, would not be possible”.

Personnel from NATO allies the US, France and Germany will be among those taking part in the procession in London.

The commemorations will begin with the words of Sir Winston Churchill‘s 1945 victory speech, spoken by actor Timothy Spall.

Thousands of people are expected to line the streets of the capital to witness the celebrations.

On the anniversary itself on Thursday, marking exactly 80 years since the Allies formally accepted Germany’s surrender, a service of commemoration will be held at Westminster Abbey, to include a national two minutes’ silence.

Pubs across England and Wales, which usually close at 11pm, will also stay open for an extra two hours to allow punters more time to celebrate.

UK

Eight arrests in connection with two separate terrorism investigations

Published

10 hours ago

May 4, 2025

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Eight arrests in connection with two separate terrorism investigations

Eight men have been arrested by the Metropolitan Police in two unconnected but “significant” terrorism investigations.

In one operation on Saturday, counter-terror officers arrested five men – four of whom are Iranian nationals – as they swooped in on various locations around the country. All are in police custody.

The Met said the arrests related to a “suspected plot to target a specific premises”.

In an update shortly after midnight, the force said: “Officers have been in contact with the affected site to make them aware and provide relevant advice and support, but for operational reasons, we are not able to provide further information at this time.”

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “Counter-terrorism policing, supported by police and colleagues from across the country, have conducted arrests in two really significant operations, both of which have been designed to keep the public safe from threats.

“There are several hundred officers and staff working on this investigation, and we will work very hard to ensure we understand the threats to the wider public.”

He refused to say if the plot was related to Israel, but described it as “certainly significant” and said “it is unusual for us to conduct this scale of activity”.

He also asked the public to “avoid speculation and some of the things that are being posted online”.

MI5 director general Ken McCallum said in October that the intelligence agency had responded to 20 “potentially lethal” Iran-backed plots since 2022. He warned of the risk of an “increase or broadening of Iranian state aggression in the UK”.

Children ‘petrified’ by armed police

Rochdale resident Kyle Warren, who witnessed one of the arrests at a neighbouring house, said his children had been playing in the garden when they came running into the house, saying a man in a mask had told them to go inside.

“Obviously, I was a bit worried,” Mr Warren told Sky News’ Lisa Dowd, and so he went into the garden to investigate.

“As we’ve come out, we just heard a massive bang, seen loads of police everywhere with guns, shouting at us to get inside the house.”

From upstairs in his house, he then heard “loads of shouting in the house” and saw a man being pulled out of the back of the house, “dragged down the side entry and thrown into all the bushes and then handcuffed”.

There were about 20 to 30 officers with guns, he believes.

“It’s just shocking, really. You don’t expect it on your doorstep.”

His daughters were “petrified… I don’t think they’ve ever seen a gun, so to see 20 masked men with guns running round was quite scary for them”.

Mr Warren, who only moved into his house a year ago, said he had “never really seen anyone going in or out” of the house and actually thought it was empty.

Arrests and searches around the country

The Met added officers were carrying out searches at a number of addresses in the Greater Manchester, London and Swindon areas in connection with the investigation.

It said those detained were:

• A 29-year-old man arrested in the Swindon area
• A 46-year-old man arrested in west London
• A 29-year-old man arrested in the Stockport area
• A 40-year-old man arrested in the Rochdale area
• A man whose age was not confirmed arrested in the Manchester area.

Terror arrests in separate investigation

Police also arrested three further Iranian nationals in London on Saturday as part of another, unrelated counter-terror investigation.

The suspects were detained under section 27 of the National Security Act 2023, which allows police to arrest those suspected of being “involved in foreign power threat activity”.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “These were two major operations that reflect some of the biggest counter state threat and counter terrorism operations that we have seen in recent years.

“This reflects the complexity of the kinds of challenges to our national security that we continue to face.”

Earlier, she thanked police and security services in a statement, and called the incidents “serious events that demonstrate the ongoing requirement to adapt our response to national security threats”.

Last year, the government placed the whole of the Iranian state – including its intelligence services – on the enhanced tier of the new foreign influence registration scheme.

It means anyone asked by Iran to carry out actions for the state must declare it, or face prison time.

UK

Terror arrests came in context of raised warnings about Iran, with ongoing chaos in its own backyard

Published

10 hours ago

May 4, 2025

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Terror arrests came in context of raised warnings about Iran, with ongoing chaos in its own backyard

These are two separate and unrelated investigations by counter-terror officers.

But the common thread is nationality – seven out of the eight people arrested are Iranian.

And that comes in the context of increased warnings from government and the security services about Iranian activity on British soil.

Last year, the director general of MI5, Ken McCallum, said his organisation and police had responded to 20 Iran-backed plots presenting potentially lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents since January 2022.

He linked that increase to the ongoing situation in Iran’s own backyard.

“As events unfold in the Middle East, we will give our fullest attention to the risk of an increase in – or a broadening of – Iranian state aggression in the UK,” he said.

The implication is that even as Iran grapples with a rapidly changing situation in its own region, having seen its proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, decimated and itself coming under Israeli attack, it may seek avenues further abroad.

The government reiterated this warning only a few weeks ago, with security minister Dan Jarvis addressing parliament.

“The threat from Iran sits in a wider context of the growing, diversifying and evolving threat that the UK faces from malign activity by a number of states,” Jarvis said.

“The threat from states has become increasingly interconnected in nature, blurring the lines between: domestic and international; online and offline; and states and their proxies.

“Turning specifically to Iran, the regime has become increasingly emboldened, asserting itself more aggressively to advance their objectives and undermine ours.”

As part of that address, Jarvis highlighted the National Security Act 2023, which “criminalises assisting a foreign intelligence service”, among other things.

So it was notable that this was the act used in one of this weekend’s investigations.

The suspects were detained under section 27 of the same act, which allows police to arrest those suspected of being “involved in foreign power threat activity”.

Those powers are apparently being put to use.