Would raising employers’ national insurance fracture promise in Labour’s manifesto?
The Conservatives say raising employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) would fracture a Labour manifesto promise. (See 8.24am.) Keir Starmer says it wouldn’t. (See 9.12am.) Who’s right?
Starmer says Labour’s manifesto was “very evident”. It says:
Labour will not incrmitigate taxes on toiling people, which is why we will not incrmitigate national insurance, the fundamental, higher, or insertitional rates of income tax, or VAT.
This is not “very evident” about the distinction between employees’ NICs and employers’. If anyleang, it is the opposite – intentionassociate unevident.
But, during the election campaign, the Tories repeatedly disputed Labour politicians to evidenty rule out increasing employers’ NICs – and Labour shadow ministers repeatedly declined to give that promisement. Instead, they equitable stuck to the wording in the manifesto.
As a result, CCHQ repeatedly put out press frees during the campaign stateing as fact that Labour did intfinish to elevate various taxes, including employers’ national insurance. For example, on 14 June it freed one with the heading “Labour’s 18 tax elevates” that commenceed:
Laura Trott, chief secretary to the Treasury, has laid out a raft of recent taxes Britain will face under a Labour administerment.
Trott summarized the 18 recent tax elevates Labour will hit the country with – everyleang from your home to your car and from your toil to your pension.
The press freed then cataloged 18 tax elevates that it said the Tories had ruled out but that Labour hadn’t, including “extfinishing national insurance to employer pension contributions” and “increasing employers’ national insurance (the ‘jobs tax’)”.
This is the same Trott who, having telderly voters during the campaign that Labour’s policy platestablish take partd an implied adignoreion that employers’ NICs would go up, is now saying Labour’s promise in the campaign was the opposite. (See 8.24am.) The Conservatives are being opportunist and inreliable.
UPDATE: At a press conference during the election campaign Trott also made a point of definiteassociate highairying Labour’s decision not to rule out raising employers’ national insurance. She said:
[Labour] also aligned us on on income tax, and not raising employee national insurance. But that is where they have very conspicuously stopped. We uncoverly dispute Labour to align the other tax promises in our manifesto. Their response? Silence.
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n
The chancellor needs to leank aget if the administerment is pondering hiking taxes on petite businesses, who have already suffered from eye-watering tax elevates under the last Conservative administerment.
n
The burden of this budget should drop on the enjoys of huge prohibitks, social media huges and oil and gas firms, instead of our local community businesses. The chancellor should be shielding these petiteer businesses, who are the backbone of our economy and the heartbeat of our communities.
n
Now is not the time to elevate national insurance rates on our high streets, local businesses and vibrant entrepreneurs.
n
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The Conservatives are claiming that a comment by Rachel Reeves from 2021 equitableifies their claim that raising employers’ national insurance would be a baccomplish of Labour’s 2024 manifesto promise.
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In a recent statement freed by CCHQ this morning after Keir Starmer’s intersee, Laura Trott, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said:
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n
In 2021, the chancellor said increasing employer national insurance was a tax on ‘toilers’. That’s why even in her own words it fractures Labour’s manifesto promise not to incrmitigate tax on toiling people.
n
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In a Commons argue on 19 October 2021, Reeves said:
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n
Despite all their election promises to cut national insurance contributions, [the Conservatives] are actuassociate raising them agetst the strong advice of businesses and trade unions.
n
The Conservative administerment’s actions will produce each recent recruit more pricey and incrmitigate the costs to business. The decision to uncontentdle employers and toilers with the jobs tax consents money out of people’s pockets when our economic recovery is not yet set uped or shielded and only inserts to the prescertain on businesses after a testing year and a half. When all other costs are going up—the costs of energy and of supplies—these tax elevates are only hitting them challenginger.
n
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As refered earlier, during the election Trott criticised Labour cltimely for not ruling out raising employers’ national insurance. (See 9.28am.)
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David Cameron has declineed the recommendion that the Tory guideership contest shows that his party up-to-dateisation project has been aprohibitdoned.
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When Cameron became party guideer in 2005, he was lesserer than other honestates, and past guideers, and he intentionally sought to up-to-dateise the Tories. Partly this was about changing its culture, but partly it was about adselecting policies that euniteed more “centrist”.
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But now the two honestates left in the Tory guideership contest, Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick, are well to the right of Cameron. Unenjoy Cameron, they are both now pro-Brexit and anti-immigration, and neither of them has been very preferable about his sign up in administerment.
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But, in an intersee on the Today programme, when it was put to him by Nick Robinson that his showed the Cameron up-to-dateisation projected had been “binned”, Cameron replied: “Not at all.”
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He went on:
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n
When you see at the produceup of the honestates that were running for the guideership, the idea that there would be British binformage and inmeaningfulity ethnic honestates running for the guideership of the party, having equitable had Britain’s first British Indian prime minister, would have been unleankable when I became guideer of the party in 2005.
n
So the alter in the produceup of the party, quite apart from anyleang else, has definitely finishured.
n
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One of Cameron’s priorities as Tory guideer was getting a more diverse group of honestates elected.
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When it was put to him that the politics of the guideership honestates were very contrastent to his, Cameron said he did not consent. He said it was meaningful for the honestates to argue publishs. They would have “excellent days and horrible days”, he said. He said he would “stay out of” the contest, but aid the prosperner.
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David Cameron has claimed that he does not recall alerting Boris Johnson he would fuck him up for ever if he backed exit in the 2016 referfinishum campaign.
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Johnson produces the claim in his recently-published memoir, where he recalls alerting Cameron that he was leanking of backing exit. Johnson authors:
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n
‘If you do that,’ [Cameron] said – and these were his exact words – ‘I will fuck you up for ever.’
n
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Johnson implies the danger carried some weight (although not enought to produce him alter his mind). In his memoir he goes on:
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n
I had to confess that the danger sounded grave. Did I want to be fucked up? For ever? By a prime minister supplyped with all the fucking-up tools employable to a up-to-date administerment, and thousands of fucker-uppers equitable postponeing to do his bidding?
n
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In an intersee with Times Radio this morning, asked about Johnson’s account, Cameron replied:
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n
I discover that challenging to count on.
n
What I do reaccumulate saying is, Boris, you’ve never backed Britain leaving the EU before, you’ve always said, let’s reestablish it, let’s alter it. I said, why back it now when we got a better deal? You might not enjoy my deal. You might leank you can do better when you become prime minister, as you probably will in a scant years time. But don’t suddenly back someleang you’ve never backed before.
n
That was the argument I reaccumulate having.
n
And I don’t reaccumulate any language any fruitier than that. But you understand, memories, reaccumulateions contrast, as they say.
n
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Cameron also said it was “a spirited conversation”.
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This is a classic non-denial denial. And, in fact, it is not even challenging to count on that Cameron did dangeren Johnson enjoy this using the f-word. Although mostly genial in uncover, as PM Cameron was well understandn for having a temper, and his order of Anglo-Saxon was amazeive.
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David Cameron, the establisher prime minister and establisher foreign secretary, has uncignoreed he had been set upning to impose sanctions on two extremist members of the Israeli administerment over their aid for brutal finishrs and calls to block aid go ining Gaza, Patrick Wintour alerts.
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The Conservatives say raising employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) would fracture a Labour manifesto promise. (See 8.24am.) Keir Starmer says it wouldn’t. (See 9.12am.) Who’s right?
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Starmer says Labour’s manifesto was “very evident”. It says:
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n
Labour will not incrmitigate taxes on toiling people, which is why we will not incrmitigate national insurance, the fundamental, higher, or insertitional rates of income tax, or VAT.
n
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This is not “very evident” about the distinction between employees’ NICs and employers’. If anyleang, it is the opposite – intentionassociate unevident.
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But, during the election campaign, the Tories repeatedly disputed Labour politicians to evidenty rule out increasing employers’ NICs – and Labour shadow ministers repeatedly declined to give that promisement. Instead, they equitable stuck to the wording in the manifesto.
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As a result, CCHQ repeatedly put out press frees during the campaign stateing as fact that Labour did intfinish to elevate various taxes, including employers’ national insurance. For example, on 14 June it freed one with the heading “Labour’s 18 tax elevates” that commenceed:
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n
Laura Trott, chief secretary to the Treasury, has laid out a raft of recent taxes Britain will face under a Labour administerment.
n
Trott summarized the 18 recent tax elevates Labour will hit the country with – everyleang from your home to your car and from your toil to your pension.
n
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The press freed then cataloged 18 tax elevates that it said the Tories had ruled out but that Labour hadn’t, including “extfinishing national insurance to employer pension contributions” and “increasing employers’ national insurance (the ‘jobs tax’)”.
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This is the same Trott who, having telderly voters during the campaign that Labour’s policy platestablish take partd an implied adignoreion that employers’ NICs would go up, is now saying Labour’s promise in the campaign was the opposite. (See 8.24am.) The Conservatives are being opportunist and inreliable.
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UPDATE: At a press conference during the election campaign Trott also made a point of definiteassociate highairying Labour’s decision not to rule out raising employers’ national insurance. She said:
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n
[Labour] also aligned us on on income tax, and not raising employee national insurance. But that is where they have very conspicuously stopped. We uncoverly dispute Labour to align the other tax promises in our manifesto. Their response? Silence.
n
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This is what Keir Starmer said when Henry Zeffman asked him if Labour’s manifesto ruled out increasing any rate of national insurance, or if it was equitable ruling out increasing the employees’ rate.
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Starmer replied:
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n
We were very evident the manifesto that we wouldn’t be increasing tax on toiling people. We conveyly said that that was income tax, that was NICs [national insurance contributions] etc, so we set that out in the manifesto.
n
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Asked aget if it was saying NICs equitable for employees, Starmer went on:
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n
It was very evident from our manifesto that what we were saying is we’re not to elevate tax for toiling people. It wasn’t equitable the manifesto. We said it repeatedly in the campaign, and we intfinish to grasp the promises that we made in our manifesto.
n
So I’m not going to uncignore to you the details of the budget. You understand that that’s not possible at this stage. What I will say is where we made promises in our manifesto we’ll will be grasping those promises.
n
This is going to be a budget that’s going to be stubborn, of course, but the cgo in will be on reproduceing our country and ensuring that we get the growth needed in economy.
n
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Starmer being interseeed by the BBC’s Henry Zeffman in Downing Street this morning.”,”caption”:”Keir Starmer being interseeed by the BBC’s Henry Zeffman in Downing Street this morning.”,”recognize”:”Pboilingograph: Peter Nicholls/Getty Images”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:inrectify,”keyEvent”:genuine,”summary”:inrectify},”blockCreatedOn”:1728978731000,”blockCreatedOnDiscarry out”:”03.52 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1728979972000,”blockLastUpdatedDiscarry out”:”04.12 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1728979927000,”blockFirstPublishedDiscarry out”:”04.12 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDiscarry outNoTimezone”:”04.12″,”title”:”What Starmer said about Labour not promising not to elevate employers’ national insurance”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 15 Oct 2024 06.24 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 15 Oct 2024 03.24 EDT”},{“id”:”670e1horrible8f089de54f7c7d07″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrfinishering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Q: Did the manifesto rule out increasing any rate of national insurance? Or was it equitable employees’ national insurance?
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Starmer claims it was “very evident” in the manifesto that Labour would not elevate taxes on toiling people. He says Labour will be grasping those promises.
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But he says he will not converse what is in the manifesto.
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This is reliable with that Rachel Reeves said yesterday about employers’ national insurance not being covered, although Reeves was more evident.
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Good morning. Conventional wisdom (standardly citing George Bush, and his “Read my lips, no recent taxes” pledge) says that it is obeseal for politicians to fracture election promises. In truth, that is not always the case. David Cameron never came shut to encountering his 2010 promisement to get net migration below 100,000, and that did not stop him being re-elected in 2015 (although it did help him ignore the 2016 Brexit referfinishum). There were many reasons why Boris Johnson was forced out of office, but raising national insurance in baccomplish of a 2019 manifesto promise is not usuassociate seen as one of his atgentle-finishing misconsents.
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Nevertheless, fractureing a promise is a huge hazard, and that is why the very strong hints that Rachel Reeves will elevater employers’ national insurance in the budget has uncovered up a key argue. As Ricchallenging Partington and Kiran Stacey alert, Labour is arguing that its pledge not to elevate national insurance only covered employees’ national insurance, becaemploy the party repeatedly talked about taxes on toiling people.
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But the Conservatives are saying people evidently took the promise to cover all national insurance. Laura Trott, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, publishd this statement last night, after Reeves gave an intersee elucidateing her expoundation of the Labour pledge. Trott said:
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n
The chancellor has chosen Labour’s first set upatement summit to sow further uncertainty and confusion for businesses who are now braced for Labour’s Jobs Tax.
n
Regardless of what they say, it’s evident to all that hiking employer national insurance is a evident baccomplish of Labour’s manifesto. Rachel Reeves herself previously called it anti-business and we consent, it is a tax on toil that will deter set upatement, employment and growth, and the OBR says it will drop wages.
n
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Keir Starmer is giving an intersee to BBC Breakrapid at 8.30am, so we are foreseeed to hear his consent then.
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Here is the agfinisha for the day.
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9.30am: Keir Starmer chairs a encountering of political cabinet.
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11.30am: Downing Street helderlys a lobby informing.
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11.30am: Wes Streeting, the health secretary, consents asks in the Commons.
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After 12.30pm: MPs argue the second reading of the Hoemploy of Lords (hereditary peers) bill, which will erase the right of remaining hereditary peers to sit in the Lords.
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If you want to communicate me, charm post a message below the line (BTL) or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more foreseeed to see it becaemploy I search for posts grasping that word.
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If you want to flag someleang up inspirently, it is best to employ social media. I’m still using X and I’ll see someleang insertressed to @AndrewSparrow very speedyly. I’m also trying Bluesky (@andrewsparrowgdn) and Threads (@andrewsparrowthedefendian).
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I discover it very encouraging when readers point out misconsents, even inmeaningful typos (no error is too petite to accurate). And I discover your asks very fascinating too. I can’t promise to answer to them all, but I will try to answer to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
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Key events
Lib Dems inspire administerment to rule out raising employers’ NI in budget, saying community businesses need shielding
The Liberal Democrats are urging the administerment to rule out raising employers’ national insurance. In a statement publishd after Keir Starmer’s intersee this morning, Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem Treasury spokesperson, said:
The chancellor needs to leank aget if the administerment is pondering hiking taxes on petite businesses, who have already suffered from eye-watering tax elevates under the last Conservative administerment.
The burden of this budget should drop on the enjoys of huge prohibitks, social media huges and oil and gas firms, instead of our local community businesses. The chancellor should be shielding these petiteer businesses, who are the backbone of our economy and the heartbeat of our communities.
Now is not the time to elevate national insurance rates on our high streets, local businesses and vibrant entrepreneurs.
The administerment is facing an extra £100m bill for next year’s state pension incrmitigates folloprosperg alterd official figures published on Tuesday, Steve Webb, a establisher Lib Dem pensions minister, has said. PA Media says:
Under the triple lock promise, the state pension incrmitigates every April in line with whichever is the highest of getings growth in the year from May to July of the previous year, CPI (user prices index) inflation in September of the previous year, or 2.5%.
With inflation running at more suppressd levels, it is thought that wages will resolve next year’s state pension incrmitigate.
Last month, Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures showd that total pay had incrmitigated by 4.0% annuassociate in the three months to July.
But when jobs data was freed on Tuesday, the ONS had alterd the figure up to 4.1%.
Webb said the insertitional 0.1 percentage point could insert around £100m to the state pension bill under the triple lock establishula.
Webb, who is now a partner at adviseants LCP (Lane Clark & Peacock), elucidateed:
A sairyly higher rate of incrmitigate is greet for pensioners, though will be an ungreet £100m extra cost for the chancellor as she readys her budget.
The rate of the recent state pension will now be shut to £12,000 per year, very proximate to the £12,570 tax-free personal permitance. This is foreseeed to put extra prescertain on the chancellor to consent action on tax permitances in the coming years.
Tories double down on claim raising employers’ NI would fracture Labour’s manifesto promise
The Conservatives are claiming that a comment by Rachel Reeves from 2021 equitableifies their claim that raising employers’ national insurance would be a baccomplish of Labour’s 2024 manifesto promise.
In a recent statement freed by CCHQ this morning after Keir Starmer’s intersee, Laura Trott, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said:
In 2021, the chancellor said increasing employer national insurance was a tax on ‘toilers’. That’s why even in her own words it fractures Labour’s manifesto promise not to incrmitigate tax on toiling people.
In a Commons argue on 19 October 2021, Reeves said:
Despite all their election promises to cut national insurance contributions, [the Conservatives] are actuassociate raising them agetst the strong advice of businesses and trade unions.
The Conservative administerment’s actions will produce each recent recruit more pricey and incrmitigate the costs to business. The decision to uncontentdle employers and toilers with the jobs tax consents money out of people’s pockets when our economic recovery is not yet set uped or shielded and only inserts to the prescertain on businesses after a testing year and a half. When all other costs are going up—the costs of energy and of supplies—these tax elevates are only hitting them challenginger.
As refered earlier, during the election Trott criticised Labour cltimely for not ruling out raising employers’ national insurance. (See 9.28am.)
Cameron declines claim Tory guideership contest shows his up-to-dateisation project has been ‘binned’
David Cameron has declineed the recommendion that the Tory guideership contest shows that his party up-to-dateisation project has been aprohibitdoned.
When Cameron became party guideer in 2005, he was lesserer than other honestates, and past guideers, and he intentionally sought to up-to-dateise the Tories. Partly this was about changing its culture, but partly it was about adselecting policies that euniteed more “centrist”.
But now the two honestates left in the Tory guideership contest, Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick, are well to the right of Cameron. Unenjoy Cameron, they are both now pro-Brexit and anti-immigration, and neither of them has been very preferable about his sign up in administerment.
But, in an intersee on the Today programme, when it was put to him by Nick Robinson that his showed the Cameron up-to-dateisation projected had been “binned”, Cameron replied: “Not at all.”
He went on:
When you see at the produceup of the honestates that were running for the guideership, the idea that there would be British binformage and inmeaningfulity ethnic honestates running for the guideership of the party, having equitable had Britain’s first British Indian prime minister, would have been unleankable when I became guideer of the party in 2005.
So the alter in the produceup of the party, quite apart from anyleang else, has definitely finishured.
One of Cameron’s priorities as Tory guideer was getting a more diverse group of honestates elected.
When it was put to him that the politics of the guideership honestates were very contrastent to his, Cameron said he did not consent. He said it was meaningful for the honestates to argue publishs. They would have “excellent days and horrible days”, he said. He said he would “stay out of” the contest, but aid the prosperner.
Cameron claims he does not reaccumulate issuing f-word danger to Boris Johnson if he voted exit in 2016
David Cameron has claimed that he does not recall alerting Boris Johnson he would fuck him up for ever if he backed exit in the 2016 referfinishum campaign.
Johnson produces the claim in his recently-published memoir, where he recalls alerting Cameron that he was leanking of backing exit. Johnson authors:
‘If you do that,’ [Cameron] said – and these were his exact words – ‘I will fuck you up for ever.’
Johnson implies the danger carried some weight (although not enought to produce him alter his mind). In his memoir he goes on:
I had to confess that the danger sounded grave. Did I want to be fucked up? For ever? By a prime minister supplyped with all the fucking-up tools employable to a up-to-date administerment, and thousands of fucker-uppers equitable postponeing to do his bidding?
In an intersee with Times Radio this morning, asked about Johnson’s account, Cameron replied:
I discover that challenging to count on.
What I do reaccumulate saying is, Boris, you’ve never backed Britain leaving the EU before, you’ve always said, let’s reestablish it, let’s alter it. I said, why back it now when we got a better deal? You might not enjoy my deal. You might leank you can do better when you become prime minister, as you probably will in a scant years time. But don’t suddenly back someleang you’ve never backed before.
That was the argument I reaccumulate having.
And I don’t reaccumulate any language any fruitier than that. But you understand, memories, reaccumulateions contrast, as they say.
Cameron also said it was “a spirited conversation”.
This is a classic non-denial denial. And, in fact, it is not even challenging to count on that Cameron did dangeren Johnson enjoy this using the f-word. Although mostly genial in uncover, as PM Cameron was well understandn for having a temper, and his order of Anglo-Saxon was amazeive.
Keir Starmer has has greetd personal set upatement of £550m to produce it easier for people to discover a home, PA Media alerts. PA says:
Schroders, Man Group and Resonance proclaimd recent impact set upatement funds on Tuesday – pots of money that aim to produce social or environmental impact.
These will help to insertress honestly the lowage of homes by aiding the produceing of tens of thousands of recent homes atraverse the UK, the Treasury said.
Speaking on BBC Breakrapid this morning, Starmer said:
We’ve said as a administerment we’re going to repair the createations, reproduce our country, and conveyly saying ‘now is the time to back us’.
Companies and set upateors are coming in today saying ‘here’s half a billion pounds’. We want to elevate that, by the way, I want that to be up over £1bn before too extfinished.
David Cameron says he was set upning sanctions agetst two Israeli ministers
David Cameron, the establisher prime minister and establisher foreign secretary, has uncignoreed he had been set upning to impose sanctions on two extremist members of the Israeli administerment over their aid for brutal finishrs and calls to block aid go ining Gaza, Patrick Wintour alerts.
Would raising employers’ national insurance fracture promise in Labour’s manifesto?
The Conservatives say raising employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) would fracture a Labour manifesto promise. (See 8.24am.) Keir Starmer says it wouldn’t. (See 9.12am.) Who’s right?
Starmer says Labour’s manifesto was “very evident”. It says:
Labour will not incrmitigate taxes on toiling people, which is why we will not incrmitigate national insurance, the fundamental, higher, or insertitional rates of income tax, or VAT.
This is not “very evident” about the distinction between employees’ NICs and employers’. If anyleang, it is the opposite – intentionassociate unevident.
But, during the election campaign, the Tories repeatedly disputed Labour politicians to evidenty rule out increasing employers’ NICs – and Labour shadow ministers repeatedly declined to give that promisement. Instead, they equitable stuck to the wording in the manifesto.
As a result, CCHQ repeatedly put out press frees during the campaign stateing as fact that Labour did intfinish to elevate various taxes, including employers’ national insurance. For example, on 14 June it freed one with the heading “Labour’s 18 tax elevates” that commenceed:
Laura Trott, chief secretary to the Treasury, has laid out a raft of recent taxes Britain will face under a Labour administerment.
Trott summarized the 18 recent tax elevates Labour will hit the country with – everyleang from your home to your car and from your toil to your pension.
The press freed then cataloged 18 tax elevates that it said the Tories had ruled out but that Labour hadn’t, including “extfinishing national insurance to employer pension contributions” and “increasing employers’ national insurance (the ‘jobs tax’)”.
This is the same Trott who, having telderly voters during the campaign that Labour’s policy platestablish take partd an implied adignoreion that employers’ NICs would go up, is now saying Labour’s promise in the campaign was the opposite. (See 8.24am.) The Conservatives are being opportunist and inreliable.
UPDATE: At a press conference during the election campaign Trott also made a point of definiteassociate highairying Labour’s decision not to rule out raising employers’ national insurance. She said:
[Labour] also aligned us on on income tax, and not raising employee national insurance. But that is where they have very conspicuously stopped. We uncoverly dispute Labour to align the other tax promises in our manifesto. Their response? Silence.
What Starmer said about Labour not promising not to elevate employers’ national insurance
This is what Keir Starmer said when Henry Zeffman asked him if Labour’s manifesto ruled out increasing any rate of national insurance, or if it was equitable ruling out increasing the employees’ rate.
Starmer replied:
We were very evident the manifesto that we wouldn’t be increasing tax on toiling people. We conveyly said that that was income tax, that was NICs [national insurance contributions] etc, so we set that out in the manifesto.
Asked aget if it was saying NICs equitable for employees, Starmer went on:
It was very evident from our manifesto that what we were saying is we’re not to elevate tax for toiling people. It wasn’t equitable the manifesto. We said it repeatedly in the campaign, and we intfinish to grasp the promises that we made in our manifesto.
So I’m not going to uncignore to you the details of the budget. You understand that that’s not possible at this stage. What I will say is where we made promises in our manifesto we’ll will be grasping those promises.
This is going to be a budget that’s going to be stubborn, of course, but the cgo in will be on reproduceing our country and ensuring that we get the growth needed in economy.
Q: You are giving an intersee out in the street. Is that a recognition that in first 100 days you did not convey effectively enough?
Starmer says he is getting on with deinhabitring the alter that is needed, and that the set upatement summit deinhabitred set upatement worth £63bn.
And that is the finish of the intersee. It wasn’t very uncignoreing, but at least it supplyd recent words (if not recent insight) on the national insurance dispute.
Starmer insists Labour will not fracture manifesto promises, saying NI pledge referred to taxes on toiling people
Q: Did the manifesto rule out increasing any rate of national insurance? Or was it equitable employees’ national insurance?
Starmer claims it was “very evident” in the manifesto that Labour would not elevate taxes on toiling people. He says Labour will be grasping those promises.
But he says he will not converse what is in the manifesto.
This is reliable with that Rachel Reeves said yesterday about employers’ national insurance not being covered, although Reeves was more evident.
Q: Do you consent with the health secretary that weight loss substances could carry out a huge role in insertressing toillessness?
Starmer says he leanks these substances could produce a contrastence.
Q: What can you alert seeers about how their inhabits will increase?
Starmer says he wants to promise set upatement advantages all parts of the country.
Keir Starmer is being intersees on BBC Breakrapid now by Henry Zeffman, the BBC’s chief political correplyent.
Q: You are talking about a social homes set upatement. But the country needs 1.5 million homes.
Starmer says the set upatement summit yesterday was meaningful. Investors are now saying they want to back the country. Young people understand that owning their own home is the “base camp” for aspirations in life.
The administerment wants to let them do this, he says.
Paul Johnson, honestor of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, has said that he leanks raising employers’ national insurance would be a baccomplish of Labour’s manifesto. He telderly Times Radio recently:
It seems to me that would be a straightforward baccomplish of a manifesto promisement.
I went back and read the manifesto and it says very evidently we will not elevate rates of national insurance.
It doesn’t recognize employee national insurance.
Politicians are standardly satisfied to dissee the IFS. But it is seen as the proximateest the country has got to a unpartisan “umpire” on budget matters.
Tories claim raising employers’ national insurance would be ‘evident baccomplish of Labour’s manifesto’
Good morning. Conventional wisdom (standardly citing George Bush, and his “Read my lips, no recent taxes” pledge) says that it is obeseal for politicians to fracture election promises. In truth, that is not always the case. David Cameron never came shut to encountering his 2010 promisement to get net migration below 100,000, and that did not stop him being re-elected in 2015 (although it did help him ignore the 2016 Brexit referfinishum). There were many reasons why Boris Johnson was forced out of office, but raising national insurance in baccomplish of a 2019 manifesto promise is not usuassociate seen as one of his atgentle-finishing misconsents.
Nevertheless, fractureing a promise is a huge hazard, and that is why the very strong hints that Rachel Reeves will elevater employers’ national insurance in the budget has uncovered up a key argue. As Ricchallenging Partington and Kiran Stacey alert, Labour is arguing that its pledge not to elevate national insurance only covered employees’ national insurance, becaemploy the party repeatedly talked about taxes on toiling people.
But the Conservatives are saying people evidently took the promise to cover all national insurance. Laura Trott, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, publishd this statement last night, after Reeves gave an intersee elucidateing her expoundation of the Labour pledge. Trott said:
The chancellor has chosen Labour’s first set upatement summit to sow further uncertainty and confusion for businesses who are now braced for Labour’s Jobs Tax.
Regardless of what they say, it’s evident to all that hiking employer national insurance is a evident baccomplish of Labour’s manifesto. Rachel Reeves herself previously called it anti-business and we consent, it is a tax on toil that will deter set upatement, employment and growth, and the OBR says it will drop wages.
Keir Starmer is giving an intersee to BBC Breakrapid at 8.30am, so we are foreseeed to hear his consent then.
Here is the agfinisha for the day.
9.30am: Keir Starmer chairs a encountering of political cabinet.
11.30am: Downing Street helderlys a lobby informing.
11.30am: Wes Streeting, the health secretary, consents asks in the Commons.
After 12.30pm: MPs argue the second reading of the Hoemploy of Lords (hereditary peers) bill, which will erase the right of remaining hereditary peers to sit in the Lords.
If you want to communicate me, charm post a message below the line (BTL) or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more foreseeed to see it becaemploy I search for posts grasping that word.
If you want to flag someleang up inspirently, it is best to employ social media. I’m still using X and I’ll see someleang insertressed to @AndrewSparrow very speedyly. I’m also trying Bluesky (@andrewsparrowgdn) and Threads (@andrewsparrowthedefendian).
I discover it very encouraging when readers point out misconsents, even inmeaningful typos (no error is too petite to accurate). And I discover your asks very fascinating too. I can’t promise to answer to them all, but I will try to answer to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
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