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Harry Brennan Consumer Affairs Editor |
Andy Burnham is considering increasing capital gains tax to fund a giveaway to the lowest earners.
He and the Chancellor are reviewing proposals to raise taxes on wealth to increase the income tax personal allowance, giving the bottom fifth of taxpayers a £600-a-year boost.
The strategy to pay for it, put forward by Dale Vince, a Labour donor, is a £14bn raid on investors that would align capital gains tax rates with income tax, alongside ending the interest paid on central reserves held by the Bank of England.
It would allow for a £3,000 increase in the personal allowance, which has not gone up since 2021 despite rising costs.
It would also allow Burnham to prove his commitment to tackling high living costs amid rising inflation.
No final decision has been made, but the Prime Minister has already strongly hinted at his desire to raise the allowance, saying it was the number one issue in his constituency before he entered No 10.
The question is, will it work? Some think tanks say it will – with additional tweaks to the system to mitigate avoidance. Economists, however, are likely to seize upon the policy, with HMRC’s own figures suggesting that raising the duty could cost more than it brings in.
This report is available only to subscribers.
Continue reading ➤ |
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Victoria Ward Deputy Royal Editor |
Earl Spencer’s memoir about his sister, Diana, Princess of Wales, has already led to a war of words with Buckingham Palace.
Allegations about the King last week prompted royal aides to take the unusual step of issuing a statement rejecting his former brother-in-law’s version of events, only to see the Earl accuse them of “gaslighting”.
Beyond the sniping about the King, the Earl provides his account of a series of notable events, not least his sister’s 1995 Panorama interview with disgraced BBC journalist Martin Bashir.
He describes in Swan Song, published tomorrow, his “eternal regret” that he failed to prevent the interview and draws a “direct line” between the lies fed to Diana by Bashir and her death in a Paris car crash two years later.
Elsewhere, he bemoans the “obvious lack of care” for Prince Harry in the aftermath of his mother’s death and suggests that a deeper nurture might have “helped him enormously in the future”.
He speaks warmly of the late Queen, defending her delayed address to the nation in the wake of Diana’s death and insists that his sister’s childhood was, in his memory, happier than she portrayed it in her lifetime.
Continue reading ➤ |
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Dominic Lawson Only outsiders are prepared to challenge ‘uniparty’ support for the unsustainable pension pledge Continue reading ➤
Allison Pearson Net zero is a national suicide pact Continue reading ➤
Gareth Roberts Sick of fruitlessly wading through streamers? Just watch Taggart Continue reading ➤ |
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Despite facing defeat in two key elections last night, Friedrich Merz has vowed to fight on as Germany’s chancellor. An exit poll in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern showed Merz’s Christian Democrats trailing the hard-Right Alternative for Germany, while in Berlin, his party was projected to lose to the hard-Left Die Linke party. Speaking minutes after the exit polls were released, Merz admitted the results “cannot be sugar-coated and ... are a disaster”.
Read the full story here ➤
Meanwhile, James Crisp, our Europe Editor, examines how the German chancellor could survive despite the election results.
Continue reading ➤ |
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Adventurer Simon Reeve seems to possess an unshakeable sense of wonder on screen, having travelled to more than 130 countries making documentaries, but he is convinced that he’s a pessimist. He recounts how he overcame his difficult upbringing to get where he is today, and explains how worried he is about the next generation. Continue reading ➤ |
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“Woke” has accumulated enemies, meanings and contradictions at remarkable speed. Yet its latest reinvention may prove the most revealing: progressives who once embraced identity politics are rediscovering the language of class and economics. Steven Poole charts an extraordinary linguistic journey, and asks whether the culture wars’ favourite insult is finally approaching retirement after years of overuse. Continue reading ➤ |
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At 66, Lulu Guinness is returning to London Fashion Week after a decade away, carrying a reimagined version of her famous lips clutch. She talks to Lisa Armstrong about the strains behind four decades in fashion and the pleasures of growing older, and offers some pointed advice to Harry and Meghan as they prepare for life in the Cotswolds. Continue reading ➤ |
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We routinely check whether our hearts are ageing well. Our brains receive rather less scrutiny. Yet some of the warning signs for future cognitive decline can emerge decades before memory problems do, and several are surprisingly easy to uncover. Six everyday checks can expose risks while there is still time to act. A leading dementia researcher reveals the numbers worth knowing in midlife, and what to change now.
For subscribers only ➤
Dementia is Britain’s biggest health crisis, experts claim ➤
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Every Monday between now and the Budget, this newsletter will bring you useful guides to ensure you are financially fit for the announcement.
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Rob White Senior Money Writer |
In just five weeks, John Healey will deliver his first Budget as Chancellor. It comes at a febrile time for Britain economically, with rising inflation and the rampant cost of living hitting workers and pensioners hard.
In a desperate attempt to balance the books, Labour has already launched a series of billion-pound tax raids since winning power. Economists have warned that the new Chancellor, who is boxed in by the party’s fiscal rules and tax promises, must find yet another £10bn in savings.
Pension savers have been a traditional easy target for revenue raising. With the Treasury refusing to rule out raids on tax-free cash or tax relief, they have every reason to worry ahead of Oct 28.
Whether you’re currently paying into your pension or retired and looking to protect hard-earned savings, here’s how to shield your retirement against another Labour onslaught.
Continue reading ➤
Burnham’s first Budget: Predictions and what it means for your money ➤ |
CAPTION COMPETITION WITH... |
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Matt Pritchett Cartoonist |
Hello! No caption competition this week as I’m with my grandchildren. Congratulations to Richard Barton on his caption for last week’s town crier.
P.S. For an inside look at what inspires my weekly cartoons, you can sign up for my personal newsletter here. Catch up on the latest edition here. |
Bobby’s B&BEvery weekday, Orlando Bird, our loyal Reader Correspondent, shares an off-piste topic that has brought out the best of your opinions and stories. Orlando writes...
As The Telegraph’s Letters Editor, I have learnt many weird and wonderful things about our readers over the years. Until recently, though, I hadn’t realised how many of you had spent time in a police cell.
It’s not quite what it sounds like. The correspondence in question began with a story from Colin Hawes: “In 1961, I and two other students from UCL were hitch-hiking from Denmark to Sweden. It was dark, and a police car pulled up alongside us to ask what we were doing. When we explained our intentions, they told us that this was too dangerous at night, and we should jump in. They drove us to the police station, gave us cells to sleep in and, to top it all, gave us breakfast in the morning before sending us on our way.”
We’ve since heard from many overnight inmates. Irene Staples had a less cushy stay: “Three friends and I once hitch-hiked to the Isle of Wight. On arriving at the youth hostel, we discovered that it was closed. We located a police station and requested help with a bed for the night. They promptly locked us all in cells, frequently looking in at us through the spyhole in the door. At about 6am they released us on our way, sadly without any breakfast.”
I also enjoyed this, from Michael May: “A friend who is ex-Argyll constabulary once told me a story about a police inspector on the island of Islay. One night he was in the police station when he was approached by a man who had crossed from Jura but missed the last boat to the mainland. He asked if there was an empty cell where he might spend the night before catching the first ferry in the morning. The man’s name? Eric Blair.” It happens to the best of us. Have you ever experienced bed (and possibly breakfast) behind bars? Send your responses here, and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of this newsletter.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. |
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1915 | The third war Budget is announced, marking a profound turning point in British war finance (you can see how we covered the story in the following day’s paper below)
1937 | JRR Tolkien’s beloved The Hobbit is first published in London by George Allen & Unwin
2022 | Vladimir Putin announces partial mobilisation of the Russian population, drafting between 300,000 and 1.2 million men to fight in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Birthdays: Joe Wicks (41), Liam Gallagher (54), Faith Hill (59)
Plus, in the news today, a solitary stoat sighted on a remote Scottish island is still at large despite a costly effort to remove the invasive predator. How much has been spent on the hunt for it?
1. £5,000
2. £50,000
3. £100,000
4. £150,000
Click one of the options to reveal the answer... |
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Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including The 1% Club, Cogs, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was EMPOWERED. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. |
Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor
I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter. You can email me your feedback at fromtheeditor@telegraph.co.uk. |
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