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People caught fly-tipping will get points on their driving licences if the Conservatives win the next general election.

Rishi Sunak will make the announcement on Friday as part of his party’s election campaign, promising to crackdown on anti-social behaviour.

Other measures will include a new “three strikes and you’re out” system for nuisance social housing tenants and the rolling out of its “hot spot” policing programme across England and Wales to increase patrolling in the worst affected areas.

The prime minister said the “bold action” would “stop anti-social behaviour in its tracks”.

But Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the policies were “more empty words from a chaotic Tory Party” which had “let anti-social behaviour run rampant” while in power.

Fly-tipping. File pic: iStock
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File pic: iStock

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Fly-tipping is already illegal and can see people facing a fine of £1,000. But the Conservatives said their “no tolerance” approach would mean offenders could end up losing their licences or even in prison due to the points being added.

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For anti-social tenants, the party said local authorities and housing associations would be “expected” to evict tenants after three proven instances of anti-social behaviour.

And the policing programme would copy a pilot the government has run in 10 areas, which it said led to nearly 800 arrests, close to 2,000 stop and searches and almost 1,000 uses of anti-social behaviour powers, such as community protection notices and public protection orders.

No fly-tipping sign. Pic: iStock
Image:
Pic: iStock

“Everyone has the right to feel safe in their neighbourhood and a sense of pride in the place they call home,” Mr Sunak will say.

“The Conservatives are the only ones with a clear plan to ensure safety, security and prosperity in your local community and your high street.

“We will take the bold action needed to crack down on fly-tipping, evict nuisance tenants and stop anti-social behaviour in its tracks so we can build a secure future for everyone across the whole country.”

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But Ms Cooper claimed there had been more than one million fly-tipping incidents in the last year alone, “yet the Tories repeatedly failed to implement their own policies and promises”.

She added: “Who does Rishi Sunak think is going to enforce any action on anti-social behaviour when the Tories have cut 10,000 neighbourhood police and PCSOs in the last eight years?

“Labour will take back our streets from those piling misery onto our communities. We’ll put 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs back on the beat, with tough new powers to crackdown on those who cause havoc on our high streets, and a mission to reverse the collapse in the number of crimes being solved.”

The Liberal Democrats’ local government spokesperson Helen Morgan accused the Tories of “effectively legalising littering” during their tenure, saying fines were “so low that people are being let off scot-free up and down the country”.

She added: “The Conservatives have had years to get tough on fly-tippers and litterers but have failed at every turn.

“The Liberal Democrats are calling for real action against fly-tippers by increasing fines and using the profits to crack down on this anti-social crime.”

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While the Tories focus on tackling crime, Labour will make a pledge to get started on their Great British Energy plan “within months” of taking office.

First announced at the party’s conference in 2022, the publicly-owned company will focus on green renewable energy, such as wind and solar, in an attempt to cut bills and make the country self-reliant.

Elsewhere, the SNP will make a fresh demand on Labour if they win power – calling on them to commit to an emergency budget immediately after the election to “reverse Tory austerity cuts, boost NHS funding, and invest in economic growth”.

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Crypto’s path to legitimacy runs through the CARF regulation

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Crypto’s path to legitimacy runs through the CARF regulation

Crypto’s path to legitimacy runs through the CARF regulation

The CARF regulation, which brings crypto under global tax reporting standards akin to traditional finance, marks a crucial turning point.

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Tokenized equity still in regulatory grey zone — Attorneys

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Tokenized equity still in regulatory grey zone — Attorneys

Tokenized equity still in regulatory grey zone — Attorneys

The nascent real-world tokenized assets track prices but do not provide investors the same legal rights as holding the underlying instruments.

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Rachel Reeves hints at tax rises in autumn budget after welfare bill U-turn

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Rachel Reeves hints at tax rises in autumn budget after welfare bill U-turn

Rachel Reeves has hinted that taxes are likely to be raised this autumn after a major U-turn on the government’s controversial welfare bill.

Sir Keir Starmer’s Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill passed through the House of Commons on Tuesday after multiple concessions and threats of a major rebellion.

MPs ended up voting for only one part of the plan: a cut to universal credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.

Initially aimed at saving £5.5bn, it now leaves the government with an estimated £5.5bn black hole – close to breaching Ms Reeves’s fiscal rules set out last year.

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Rachel Reeves’s fiscal dilemma

In an interview with The Guardian, the chancellor did not rule out tax rises later in the year, saying there were “costs” to watering down the welfare bill.

“I’m not going to [rule out tax rises], because it would be irresponsible for a chancellor to do that,” Ms Reeves told the outlet.

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“We took the decisions last year to draw a line under unfunded commitments and economic mismanagement.

“So we’ll never have to do something like that again. But there are costs to what happened.”

Meanwhile, The Times reported that, ahead of the Commons vote on the welfare bill, Ms Reeves told cabinet ministers the decision to offer concessions would mean taxes would have to be raised.

The outlet reported that the chancellor said the tax rises would be smaller than those announced in the 2024 budget, but that she is expected to have to raise tens of billions more.

It comes after Ms Reeves said she was “totally” up to continuing as chancellor after appearing tearful at Prime Minister’s Questions.

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Why was the chancellor crying at PMQs?

Criticising Sir Keir for the U-turns on benefit reform during PMQs, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the chancellor looked “absolutely miserable”, and questioned whether she would remain in post until the next election.

Sir Keir did not explicitly say that she would, and Ms Badenoch interjected to say: “How awful for the chancellor that he couldn’t confirm that she would stay in place.”

In her first comments after the incident, Ms Reeves said she was having a “tough day” before adding: “People saw I was upset, but that was yesterday.

“Today’s a new day and I’m just cracking on with the job.”

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Reeves is ‘totally’ up for the job

Sir Keir also told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby on Thursday that he “didn’t appreciate” that Ms Reeves was crying in the Commons.

“In PMQs, it is bang, bang, bang,” he said. “That’s what it was yesterday.

“And therefore, I was probably the last to appreciate anything else going on in the chamber, and that’s just a straightforward human explanation, common sense explanation.”

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