Met Police Chief, Mark Rowley, says race disparities in crime and justice are 'shameful' for London
Sunday 13 July 2025 04:16, UK
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The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
Rachel Reeves' mortgage gamble is the move of a chancellor who is running out of options
According to Treasury sources, Rachel Reeves wants the public to start taking risks again. The analysis she is working from is that the financial crash of 2008 – which saw several banks go under or need to be nationalised – has made the country too risk-adverse. But the biggest risk taker may well be the chancellor herself, with her plans to free up the mortgage market and slash red tape for financial services in the City. Like many gamblers, though, Ms Reeves' spin of the financial services roulette wheel, to be announced in her Mansion House speech this evening, is largely prompted by the fact that she is running out of options. After all, when Labour won the election just over a year ago, Ms Reeves came into office with economic growth as her 'number one mission'. For all of the talk of 'having the best economic growth in the G7', it has actually been negligible and, in fact, in the last quarter it has gone slightly backwards. She also insisted she did not want to raise tax, and even said during the election that she would prefer to cut tax. Once in power, however, she oversaw a massive increase in spending fuelled by £40bn of tax rises in her first Budget, mostly a hike on employer contributions to national insurance which is now impacting the jobs market. Attempts to bring spending under control by tackling welfare has ended with U-turns on winter fuel payment cuts for pensioners, costing her £1.25bn, and planned welfare cuts mostly on disability benefits which has cost her a further £5bn. The frustrations and pressure on Ms Reeves could not have been better illustrated than the tears visibly rolling down her face during a recent session of PMQs, where the prime minister Keir Starmer could not even guarantee her future as chancellor. The one break she got was after that unfortunate incident, Sir Keir was forced to give her a belated vote of confidence to prevent the markets tanking at the thought she might be sacked. But now, faced with the prospect she will have to bring in yet more painful, growth-killing taxes – possibly so-called wealth taxes on pension funds or dividends, or stealth taxes by freezing income tax thresholds, or both – Ms Reeves only has one way to find growth. That is to return to the pre-2008 model on financial services and mortgages to encourage investors and first-time buyers to start taking risks again themselves. It is exactly what fed the high growth which characterised the last Labour government under Tony Blair. Most of the country's economic success was floated on the 'get rich' model of the City. The problem is that the result of that model was 2008 when the deregulated financial services industry took several risks too many, and the blogabl economy was plunged into crisis, taking whole banks with it. Part of the reason for that was because of the mortgage market, where it had become far too easy for people to borrow unsustainable amounts that they could not pay back in so-called sub-prime mortgages. Ms Reeves is nodding back in that direction. By reducing the minimum wage for people to have a mortgage and increasing the ration from 3.5 times salary to 4.5 times she is not quite repeating the mistakes of the 2000s where people could literally self-certify their income. However, she is heading slowly in that direction and it brings an enormous risk, as well as potential for short-term economic growth. Possibly the greater worry for Ms Reeves, though, is if this does not work and her bonfire of red tape does not produce the increase to the nation's wealth that she needs to help fund the bill for public spending increases before the next election. There may not be any more dice for Ms Reeves to throw if that is the case. And, despite his recent assurances, that could mean that the prime minister ends up looking for someone else to do the job.
The Guardian
24 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Trump shrugs off Farage's call for parliament to be recalled so he can address MPs during state visit
Update: Date: 2025-07-15T07:36:04.000Z Title: Donald Trump Content: Good morning. has given an interview to the BBC's chief North America correspondent, Gary O'Donoghue, and, while the most important lines are about Russia, it contains some interesting snippets about the UK. Trump is making an unprecedented second state visit in September and yesterday a mini Westminster row broke out about the timing of the trip (starting just after the Commons starts its conference season recess), and the fact this means Trump isn't being invited to give a speech to MPs and peers. No 10 implied yesterday that this was just a scheduling coincidence – and nothing to do with the fact that some parliamentarians are bitterly opposed to hosting Trump, who is widely reviled as a threat to American democracy. Yesterday Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said (to GB News, of course) that parliament should be recalled so that Trump could get the chance to speak in the Royal Gallery or Westminster Hall (the venues normally used for these events). But, when O'Donoghue asked Trump about this, he discovered that the US president doesn't agree with Farage, and isn't bothered about the prospect of not getting the President Macron treatment. Asked if he would like parliament to be recalled so he could make a speech there, Trump replied: I think let them go and have a good time [ie, let MPs have their recess]. I don't want that to … Asked what he wanted to achieve from the state visit, Trump said: I think just we I want to have a good time and respect to King Charles because he's a great gentleman. We have not heard Farage's reaction yet. His X feed still has this video near the top, featuring the Reform UK leader calling for the recall of parliament. Parliament must be recalled for 's state visit to the does @Keir_Starmer think Macron is a better friend of Britain than Trump? Trump's response suggests Farage might be less in touch with the views of the president, and the Maga movement, than he sometimes claims. And, given Trump's unpopularity in the UK generally, it is probably not wise for Farage to appear even more sensitive to any slights to Trump's dignity than the man himself. I will post more from the interview soon. Here is the agenda for the day. 9.30am: Keir Starmer chairs cabinet. 9.30am: Rachel Reeves, chancellor, announces a package of reforms to financial services in Leeds. 9.30am: James Cleverly, the former Tory home secretary, gives a speech to the IPPR thinktank. 9.30am: The Department for Work and Pensions publishes universal credit claim figures, including for the first time details of foreign nationals getting UC. 10am: Sir Adrian Montague, chair of Thames Water, and Chris Weston, its chief executive, give evidence to the Commons environment committee. 10.15am: Richard Hughes, chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility, and colleagues give evidence to the Commons Treasury committee about the OBR's fiscal risks report. Noon: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing. After 12.30pm: MPs start debates on two Tory opposition day motions. The first one calls for the two-child benefit cap to stay, and the second one calls on the government to commit to uprating tax thresholds in line with inflation and to rule out new taxes on savings, homes and pensions. Also today, the Department for Education is publishing new guidance on sex education. If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (normally between 10am and 3pm at the moment), 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 likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word. If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @ The Guardian has given up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary. I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can't promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
The Independent
25 minutes ago
- The Independent
UK is a ‘powder keg' of tensions and could easily ignite once again, report warns
A new report warns the UK is a "powder keg" of social tensions, risking further unrest a year after widespread riots across the country. Research reveals one in three adults rarely or never interact with people from different backgrounds, and up to seven in ten have not met local asylum seekers. The report highlights immigration concerns as the primary driver of local community tensions, exacerbated by political polarisation, declining trust in institutions, and the cost of living crisis. Sir Sajid Javid and Jon Cruddas, co-chairing a new commission, state that without urgent action, the "very basis of our democracy is at risk" due to societal fragmentation. Last summer's far-right riots, which targeted asylum seeker hotels, were fuelled by widespread misinformation regarding the identity of a knife attacker.
