Category Archives: Rachel Reeves

Rachel Reeves due to appear at gambling lobbyist’s event amid tax review

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Chancellor’s invitation criticised as ‘strange timing’ with Treasury looking at whether to raise duties on £12bn sector

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has been urged to cancel plans to be the guest of honour at an event hosted by the chief lobbyist of the gambling industry while the Treasury is in the midst of a review of taxes on the £12bn sector.

Reeves is slated to appear at a “private reception” for business leaders, organised by the corporate communications company Brunswick, at the forthcoming Labour party conference in Liverpool.

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Reeves to host bosses of UK and US financial firms as Trump visit begins

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Chancellor hosting Downing Street talks with Treasury secretary, which are aimed at securing more US investment

Rachel Reeves will host the bosses of top US and UK financial firms in Downing Street on Tuesday morning, as Donald Trump begins his official state visit.

The meeting, which will be jointly hosted by US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, will be attended by senior figures from BlackRock, Barclays and Blackstone, who will have roundtable talks with officials hoping to highlight economic cooperation between the two countries.

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Business rates rise would put hundreds of big shops at risk, say UK retailers

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Concern for ‘anchor tenants’ as trade body warns that stores could put up prices or cut jobs to protect profits

Up to 400 large shops are at risk of closure with as many as 100,000 jobs at risk if the government goes ahead with plans to hit stores with higher business rates, retailers have warned.

Some of the UK’s largest retail premises, including supermarkets and department stores, would face higher property tax charges under new rules being considered by the government before November’s budget.

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Reeves has ‘full confidence’ in Rayner, and thinks deputy PM can keep her job – UK politics live

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Chancellor offers unequivocal backing to colleague following stamp duty error

Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, was also asked in her Sky News interview if the Rayner controversy showed that the stamp duty regime was “way too complicated”. Reeves sidestepped the question, saying:

Well, look, Angela tried to do the right thing, and of course it is incumbent on all of us to try to properly understand the rules, and she is now working to make sure that the correct tax is paid.

Well, the definitive advice came in on Wednesday morning, and that’s when Angela put out the statement.

On Tuesday as well some court injunctions were lifted related to her disabled son and those circumstances, and that’s why Angela was able to make a full statement on Wednesday.

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Farage a ‘Putin-loving, free speech impostor’ says Democrat before Reform head’s US speech – UK politics live

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Jamie Raskin says Farage is ‘a Trump sycophant’ before UK politician addresses the House judiciary committee in Washington

Kemi Badenoch is probably hastily redrafting her PMQs script in the light of Angela Rayner’s statement about underpaying her stamp duty. She has got less than half an hour to craft the right questions. And she will probably want to ask about the economy, and hate speech laws, too.

Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.

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Pressure rises on Reeves as government borrowing costs hit 27-year high

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Chancellor will face more limited fiscal headroom at budget after yield on 30-year bond increases to 5.723%

Britain’s long-term borrowing costs have hit their highest level in 27 years, intensifying the pressure on the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, before the autumn budget.

The yield, or interest rate, on 30-year UK government debt hit 5.723% on Tuesday. That is its highest level since 1998, indicating that it will cost the UK more to borrow from the markets, above the previous 27-year high of 5.649% set in April.

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‘Put them up anywhere’: Cooper backs St George’s flags as No 10 says asylum seekers could be housed in industrial buildings – UK politics live

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Home secretary earlier suggested warehouses could be used instead of hotels, while PM will urge ministers to go ‘further and faster’ on immigration in Tuesday meeting

Lamb says the Greens are “the antidote to Reform”.

That gets a big round of applause.

We’re a home for all those people across the country holding their heads in their hands as the Labour government lets them down again and again and again, whether it is switching from the aid budget or from people with disabilities and not bringing in taxes … we need.

And that is why, in reaction, a new Green wave is sweeping the country as people turn to us.

It’s already become a bit of a cliche, but we are really moving into a multi-party system, with the Greens poised to help create the next government.

And, like all the best cliches, it has the distinct advantage of also being for true.

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Pre-budget lift for Rachel Reeves as UK business confidence rises

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Despite concerns about economy, poll shows optimism about trading prospects at highest level since 2014

Confidence among UK businesses has grown despite anxiety about the state of the economy, in a rare slice of positive news for the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in the run-up to her autumn budget.

An August poll of UK companies by Lloyds Bank showed that improved sentiment among manufacturers and retailers helped push overall optimism within UK plc up by two percentage points, with 54% of companies now feeling confident in the current environment.

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Online fashion retailer Shein’s UK sales leap by a third to more than £2bn

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Profits rise 56% to £38.2m in 2024 as company overtakes British rival Boohoo and closes in on Asos

Shein, the online fast-fashion retailer founded in China, increased sales in the UK by about a third to more than £2bn last year, overtaking the British rival Boohoo and closing in on Asos.

The company, which had been considering a £50bn float on the London Stock Exchange but is expected to list in Hong Kong, said profits rose 56% to £38.2m last year on which it paid £9.6m corporation tax, according to accounts filed at Companies House this week.

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Treasury targeting inheritance tax reforms to help plug UK deficit

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Exclusive: Chancellor also looking at tweaks to capital gains tax to try to bridge £40bn-plus spending gap before budget

The Treasury is looking at ways to raise more money from inheritance tax amid growing pressure on the country’s finances ahead of the autumn budget, sources have told the Guardian.

Officials have been tasked with examining whether tightening rules on the gifting of money and assets could be one way of addressing a gap between revenue and spending that is estimated to reach more than £40bn.

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Rachel Reeves needs to put up taxes to cover £40bn deficit, thinktank says

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NIESR suggests a rise of 5p in the pound on basic and higher rate of income tax would fill the budget gap

Rachel Reeves will need to raise taxes to close a government spending gap that is on course to reach more than £40bn after a slowdown in economic growth and higher-than-expected inflation, according to a leading thinktank.

In a blow to Labour’s hopes of balancing the books without breaking manifesto commitments ruling out personal tax rises, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said a number of factors would knock off course the chancellor’s plans to stay within Whitehall spending limits.

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Labour does not deserve to win next election without change, Reeves says

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Chancellor admits voter frustration as government faces renewed calls from Labour politicians for a wealth tax

Labour does not “deserve” to win the next election if it does not change the country, Rachel Reeves has said, as she acknowledged some voters were disappointed with the party’s record since entering government.

The chancellor said she understood the unhappiness felt by some voters towards a government that has U-turned on winter fuel allowance and welfare policies in recent months.

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Labour does not deserve to win next election without change, Reeves says

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Chancellor admits voter frustration as government faces renewed calls from Labour politicians for a wealth tax

Labour does not “deserve” to win the next election if it does not change the country, Rachel Reeves has said, as she acknowledged some voters were disappointed with the party’s record since entering government.

The chancellor said she understood the unhappiness felt by some voters towards a government that has U-turned on winter fuel allowance and welfare policies in recent months.

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Labour does not deserve to win next election without change, Reeves says

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Chancellor admits voter frustration as government faces renewed calls from Labour politicians for a wealth tax

Labour does not “deserve” to win the next election if it does not change the country, Rachel Reeves has said, as she acknowledged some voters were disappointed with the party’s record since entering government.

The chancellor said she understood the unhappiness felt by some voters towards a government that has U-turned on winter fuel allowance and welfare policies in recent months.

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Chancellor’s attempt to intervene in car finance scandal branded ‘disgraceful’

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Defending industry over consumers sends ‘really bad message’, says Treasury committee member Bobby Dean

Rachel Reeves’ efforts to intervene in the supreme court case on the car finance scandal were “unprecedented and disgraceful” and send a “really bad message” to consumers that the government is willing to defend wrongdoing by banks, Treasury committee member and Lib Dem MP Bobby Dean has said.

While the supreme court largely sided with finance companies on Friday – helping lenders avoid a £44bn compensation bill – Dean said the chancellor had gone too far to show she was on the side of business.

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Chancellor’s attempt to intervene in car finance scandal branded ‘disgraceful’

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Defending industry over consumers sends ‘really bad message’, says Treasury committee member Bobby Dean

Rachel Reeves’ efforts to intervene in the supreme court case on the car finance scandal were “unprecedented and disgraceful” and send a “really bad message” to consumers that the government is willing to defend wrongdoing by banks, Treasury committee member and Lib Dem MP Bobby Dean has said.

While the supreme court largely sided with finance companies on Friday – helping lenders avoid a £44bn compensation bill – Dean said the chancellor had gone too far to show she was on the side of business.

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Starmer and Reeves should consider wealth tax, says former shadow chancellor

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Anneliese Dodds urges government not to duck ‘big decisions’ in autumn budget

The Treasury should consider a wealth tax to close the growing gap in the public finances, according to a Labour former shadow chancellor.

Anneliese Dodds, who held the role under Keir Starmer in opposition, said ministers must have a “full and frank discussion” with the public about the “really big decisions” they had to take at this autumn’s budget.

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Labour says firms will be penalised for late payments to suppliers

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Government drive to support small business will include startup loans for 69,000 companies worth £4bn

Keir Starmer has warned businesses who persistently delay payments to their suppliers that it is “time to pay up” as the government prepares to impose fines and penalties on repeat offenders.

In what Labour has billed as the toughest crackdown on late payments in a generation, the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, will say on Thursday that the changes will slash a cost to the economy that has escalated to £11bn a year.

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Bank of England governor blocks Rachel Reeves’s Revolut meeting

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Concerns about chancellor’s involvement in independent process over fintech’s banking licence

The governor of the Bank of England blocked a meeting that Rachel Reeves tried to secure with watchdogs and Revolut, amid concerns the chancellor was meddling in an independent process over the fintech’s UK banking licence.

Andrew Bailey intervened after learning of the plan to bring together representatives from Revolut, the Treasury and the Bank’s regulatory arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority, to discuss the fintech’s ambitions to become a fully authorised UK bank.

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HSBC boss says Rachel Reeves putting up bank taxes would harm UK growth

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Georges Elhedery’s comments come amid speculation the chancellor could make such a move in autumn budget

The boss of HSBC has joined a growing chorus of bankers cautioning Rachel Reeves against increasing taxes on banks in her autumn budget, warning it risked “eroding” investment and ultimately harming UK growth.

Georges Elhedery, its chief executive, said banks in the UK were already subject to the highest level of taxes on profits compared with other sectors, and paid more than in most other countries. He said placing further financial pressures on lenders could spell trouble for the UK economy.

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