Sir Keir Starmer says those with assets are ‘not working people’ – paving way for possible tax rises

Published

10 months ago

October 25, 2024

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Sir Keir Starmer has hinted at possible tax rises for those who own shares and assets, saying they do not fit his definition of “working people”.

The prime minister was asked to share his definition of a “working” person after Labour’s election-winning manifesto promised “not increase taxes on working people” – but who exactly that covers has not been entirely clear.

The debate over the definition intensified after ministers refused to rule out raising national insurance on employers in the budget – which tax experts believe would ultimately be passed on to employees and workers – for example, through lower wages.

Sir Keir said he believed a working person was somebody who “goes out and earns their living, usually paid in a sort of monthly cheque” but they did not have the ability to “write a cheque to get out of difficulties”.

Asked by Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby whether he would classify a working person as someone whose income derived from assets, such as shares or property, the prime minister said: “Well, they wouldn’t come within my definition.”

Politics latest: Tories accuse government of ‘broken promises’ over budget rule change

Pressed on whether that meant taxes for those people could go up, the prime minister said: “You can probably give me any number of examples… you’re asking me for a definition of who’s a working person, and then you’re making assumptions about what that tax might be in relation to.”

Inheritance tax, charged on the estate of someone who has died, and capital gains tax, imposed on the profit from the sale of capital assets, have been touted as the two most likely to see a rise.

Capital gains tax is currently levied on most personal possessions worth £6,000 or more, including second homes, most shares not held in an ISA and business assets.

Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has refused to rule out increasing them, saying in August: “On spending, on welfare, and tax, we’re going to have to make a series of difficult decisions, but I’ll set out that detail in the right and proper way on the 30 October at that budget.”

Both Sir Keir and Ms Reeves have repeatedly warned that “tough” decisions lie ahead in the budget after it claimed to have uncovered a £22bn black hole in the nation’s finances left by the previous government.

According to people close to the budget, the gap in funding identified by the chancellor is more than twice what was previously thought – at £40bn.

The chancellor admitted on Thursday she would rewrite the government’s fiscal rules in next week’s budget to allow her to increase borrowing for public investment by around £50bn.

Speaking to Sky News in Washington DC, the chancellor said the self-imposed rule under which borrowing must be falling by the fifth year of economic forecasts will be redefined from the current measure of public sector net debt.

She insisted the change was necessary to end years of declining public investment and deliver on Labour‘s promise to deliver growth.

“Under the plans that I have inherited from the previous Conservative government, public sector net investment as a share of our economy was due to decline steeply during the course of this parliament,” she said.

“I don’t want that path for Britain when there are so many opportunities in industries from life sciences to carbon capture, storage and clean energy to AI and technology, as well as the need to repair our crumbling schools and hospitals.”

Politics

UK, Australia, Germany, Italy and New Zealand condemn Israel’s plan for new operation in Gaza

Published

8 hours ago

August 9, 2025

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UK joins four countries in condemning Israel's plan for new operation in Gaza

The UK and four allies have criticised Israel’s decision to launch a new large-scale military operation in Gaza – warning it will “aggravate the catastrophic humanitarian situation” in the territory.

The foreign ministers of Britain, Australia, Germany, Italy and New Zealand said in a joint statement that the offensive will “endanger the lives of hostages” and “risk violating international humanitarian law”.

It comes a day after Israel’s security cabinet approved an operation to take military control of Gaza City – and concluded a full takeover of the enclave is required to end the conflict.

It marks another escalation in the war in Gaza, sparked by the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023.

In their joint statement, the UK and its allies said they “strongly reject” the decision, adding: “It will endanger the lives of the hostages and further risk the mass displacement of civilians.

“The plans that the government of Israel has announced risk violating international humanitarian law. Any attempts at annexation or of settlement extension violate international law.”

The countries also called for a permanent ceasefire as “the worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in Gaza”.

It comes as Sky News analysis has found that airdrops of aid are making little difference to Gaza’s hunger crisis, and pose serious risks to the population – with a father-of-two killed by a falling package.

Meanwhile, France, Canada, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations all criticised Israel’s plan for a full occupation of Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “expressed his disappointment” with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s in phone call on Friday after Berlin decided it would stop selling arms to Israel.

In a post on X, the Israeli prime minister’s office added: “Instead of supporting Israel’s just war against Hamas, which carried out the most horrific attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Germany is rewarding Hamas terrorism by embargoing arms to Israel.”

US ambassador hits out at Starmer

Earlier on Friday, the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, criticised Sir Keir Starmer after he said Israel’s decision to “escalate its offensive” in Gaza is “wrong”.

Mr Huckabee wrote on X: “So Israel is expected to surrender to Hamas & feed them even though Israeli hostages are being starved? Did UK surrender to Nazis and drop food to them? Ever heard of Dresden, PM Starmer? That wasn’t food you dropped. If you had been PM then UK would be speaking German!”

In another post around an hour later Mr Huckabee wrote: “How much food has Starmer and the UK sent to Gaza?

“@IsraeliPM has already sent 2 MILLION TONS into Gaza & none of it even getting to hostages.”

Sir Keir has pledged to recognise a Palestinian state in September unless the Israeli government meets a series of conditions towards ending the war in Gaza.

The UK and its allies criticised Israel as US President JD Vance and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy met at Chevening House in Kent on Friday.

Mr Vance described a “disagreement” about how the US and UK could achieve their “common objectives” in the Middle East, and said the Trump administration had “no plans to recognise a Palestinian state”.

He said: “I don’t know what it would mean to really recognise a Palestinian state given the lack of functional government there.”

Mr Vance added: “There’s a lot of common objectives here. There is some, I think, disagreement about how exactly to accomplish those common objectives, but look, it’s a tough situation.”

The UN Security Council will meet on Saturday to discuss the situation in the Middle East.

Ambassador Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, said earlier on Friday that a number of countries would be requesting a meeting of the UN Security Council on Israel’s plans.

Politics

BlackRock launching a SOL ETF in first wave would be ‘messed up’ — Analyst

Published

8 hours ago

August 9, 2025

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<div>BlackRock launching a SOL ETF in first wave would be 'messed up' — Analyst</div>

BlackRock hasn’t filed for a Solana ETF, but ETF analyst James Seyffart says they shouldn’t be allowed to jump in at the last minute after other issuers’ hard work.