View from Westminster
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Thursday, February 29, 2024 |
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Rachel Reeves's sums still don't add up |
Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, said in an interview this morning that a Labour government would insulate 5m homes over five years. I pointed out when she scaled back the £28bn green investment pledge that Labour's claim that it would insulate "millions" of homes during a parliament did not add up. At best, Labour might have enough money for 1.3m. Now that Jeremy Hunt is about to steal two of Labour's four sources of new revenue – restricting non-dom tax advantages and extending the oil and gas windfall tax, leaving just VAT on school fees and a tax rise on private equity – it is going to be even harder for Labour to produce credible figures to pay for its ambitious missions. |
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The people who live there call their country Shqipëria; what do English-speakers call it? |
Answer at the bottom of today's email |
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| London mayor said he was 'sad, angry, frustrated, appalled, heartbroken' | |
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| PM warns police they risk losing public confidence if they do not 'use the powers you already have' |
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| The shadow chancellor accused the Conservative Party of 'burning the whole house down' |
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What else you need to know today |
- The Home Office has published 13 reports by David Neal, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, who was sacked by James Cleverly, the home secretary; expect highly critical findings soon from journalists speed-reading them
- Angela Rayner, deputy Labour leader, does seem to have questions to answer about the tax due on the sale of a house – Dan Neidle, a Labour tax specialist, agrees
- I wrote about Jeremy Hunt's plan to shoot Labour's fox by abolishing non-dom tax status – why hasn't he done it before?
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What's behind the crisis in council services – and can Labour fix it? |
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If Rachel Reeves becomes chancellor, she will have very little room for manoeuvre and will face the same challenges of rising social-care costs... Read more |
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A look back at the week in Westminster |
A chastened speaker let Conservative MPs roar |
The Commons will be sitting for private members' bills tomorrow, but Westminster will mostly be discussing the result of the Rochdale by-election. This week has been dominated by Lee Anderson, suspended from the parliamentary Conservative party at the weekend, and associated stories such as "no go areas" in London and Birmingham. The Commons was still also feeling the after-effects of Sir Lindsay Hoyle's handling of the Scottish National Party's call for a Gaza ceasefire on Wednesday last week. Unusually, the speaker did not interrupt proceedings once during this week's Prime Minister's Questions, which was, therefore, a noisy, electioneering affair. |
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"There's certainly been friction between No 10 and No 11"
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And finally... Do you think that the introduction of smart phones and social media apps has been ...? A good thing for young people, 20 per cent; a bad thing, 67 per cent. More in Common poll |
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