Chancellor Rachel Reeves dodges wealth tax calls from predecessor
When Sir Keir Starmer became Labour leader in 2020, Ms Dodds was his first pick for shadow chancellor. However, she did not last long and was replaced by Ms Reeves, who then got the government job after last year's election win.
Speaking to the Sky News political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Ms Dodds said she had examined wealth taxes when she was briefly in the shadow chancellor job and how one could be implemented.
She said: "I would hope the Treasury is considering that kind of evidence, as well as other changes that have been put forward."
Asked today if about Ms Dodds' intervention, Ms Reeves said: "Decisions around tax are decisions that are made at a budget and we'll make those decisions in the appropriate way, but the number-one priority of this government is to grow the economy.
"And that means bringing more investment into Britain, creating more good jobs paying decent wages here in Britain.
Listen here to hear Ms Dodds' full comments:"We've got to get the balance right on taxation because we want that investment, we want those jobs to come here.
"That's why we're reforming the planning system, secured three trade deals in the first year of this Labour government, cutting back on unnecessary regulation, and reforming our pension system to unlock money for businesses to be able to invest here in the UK."
Read more:What is a wealth tax?
The government's financial position is stretched ahead of the next budget, due at the end of autumn.
Ms Reeves has committed herself to not changing her fiscal rules, leaving little wiggle room to avoid tax rises or spending cuts.
This is due to the government's inability to save money through policies like welfare reform, which were gutted due to a rebellion of backbench Labour MPs.
Last week, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds branded the suggestion of a wealth tax "daft" - but he has less influence over the writing of the budget than the chancellor.
Politics live:
Meanwhile, reports from the Daily Telegraph suggested that Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner backed increasing taxes, including reinstating the pensions lifetime allowance and a higher corporation tax level for banks.
Ms Dodds also wants to see those considered.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


TechCrunch
17 minutes ago
- TechCrunch
Lina Khan points to Figma IPO as vindication for M&A scrutiny
A surprising figure is celebrating Figma's successful IPO: Lina Khan, former chair of the Federal Trade Commission. In a Friday afternoon post on X, Khan linked to an article about Figma's impressive first day of trading and argued the IPO is 'a great reminder that letting startups grow into independently successful businesses, rather than be bought up by existing giants, can generate enormous value.' Khan was alluding to a $20 billion deal for Adobe to acquire Figma that fell through back in 2023. While Adobe cited the lack of a 'clear path' to approval from the European Commission and the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, the acquisition also faced regulatory scrutiny in the United States over concerns that it could prevent Figma from being an 'effective competitor' to Adobe. Khan was FTC chair at the time, leading the agency to challenge Big Tech on fronts including startup acquisitions — to the point that companies tried to avoid this scrutiny with 'reverse acqui-hires' in which they hired key team members and licensed technology rather than acquiring startups outright. (The practice seems to be continuing despite Khan's departure from the FTC.) While her aggressive stance led to intense criticism from corners of the tech industry, she defended her approach by saying that only a tiny percentage of deals received 'a second look' and arguing that founders would ultimately benefit from 'a world in which you have six or seven or eight potential suitors' rather than 'just one or two.' And although Khan — who'd been appointed by President Joe Biden — resigned at the start of the second Trump administration, her comments Friday paint the Figma IPO as a vindication for her approach, calling the IPO 'a win for employees, investors, innovation, and the public.' Of course, Khan's critics are more likely to see Figma's success as coming despite regulatory scrutiny, not because of it. For example, Wedbush Security analyst Dan Ives told Business Insider, 'Figma is a massive success, but it's because of the company's innovative growth and not due to the FTC and Kahn.'
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Nine arrests as protesters clash outside Islington asylum hotel
Nine people have been arrested after protests erupted outside a hotel in north London as rival groups faced off over its continued use to accommodate asylum seekers. Police were forced to intervene after brief clashes broke out between both groups outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in Islington. A large group of masked protesters dressed in black and chanting 'we are anti-fascist' marched from a side street towards the main demonstration, prompting officers to rush in and separate the two sides. Meanwhile, people believed to be migrants were seen watching from hotel windows as chants and drumming continued in the street below. The Met Police said there had been nine arrests, including seven on suspicion of breaching Public Order Act conditions. The force said a 33-year-old man who was part of the anti-immigration demonstration was also arrested for a racially aggravated public order offence. A further eight counter-protesters were also arrested. A 22-year-old woman was arrested for expressing support for Palestine Action. A further three men, aged 30, 21 and 28, and three women, aged 43, 33 and 21, were arrested for breaching the Public Order Act conditions in place. A 21-year-old man was arrested for breaching the Public Order Act conditions in place, as well as two cases of assaulting an emergency worker. The Met Police had earlier imposed strict conditions on both the protest and counter-demonstration and increased their presence. The force said the protest against the use of the Islington hotel was organised by local residents under the banner 'Thistle Barbican needs to go – locals say no'. A counter protest, organised by Stand Up To Racism and supported by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, as well as other groups including Finsbury Park Mosque and Islington Labour Party, also took place. Claire Ogley was one of the many Islington residents who joined the Stand Up to Racism protest outside the Thistle City Barbican hotel. The 31-year-old told the Standard: 'I live in Islington. I wanted to show support as a local resident. 'It's really important to stand up to the far right when they come out. We have a message that migrants are not a problem, they are not a threat to us. 'They are welcome. It's not an issue to have migration. I wanted to stand up for that locally.' The protester added: 'We saw the riots on the street a year ago. It is really frightening to see. 'There is a really worrying trend of increasing populism, trying to divide people and stoke up hatred.' Joel, who was also part of the same protest, also told the Standard: 'Islington is a multicultural area of London. The fascists want to intimidate people and they want to come down and say asylum seekers are the root cause of all the problems of the world, but it's not the case.' The 77-year-old added: "We want to show that the racists [and] the fascists are out there to intimidate people. We have to stand together. "We always need more people [to protest], we have to give confidence to people that we are a multicultural city. 'Without the input of people from all over the world, the fashion industry, the food - all the elements of London would be nothing without people from all parts of the world." He added: "I'm proud to live in London, we want to see more people [who] will be welcome. It's not about attacking the fascists, it's about standing together.' Protesters against asylum seekers being placed in the Thistle City Barbican hotel had waved St George's flag and chanted across the street from the building. Susie Luke, who has lived in the Clerkenwell area her whole life, told the Standard: 'Our communities are struggling. 'People are living in the block of flats opposite on food stamps, watching people live over there for free.' Ms Luke also raised concerns about crime in the area increasing, claiming that her friend was followed home and a young man had a chain ripped from around his neck outside the hotel. A large group of masked protesters dressed in black, chanting 'we are anti-fascist' had appeared from a side street and marched towards the rival group outside the hotel during the protests. There were brief clashes before police rushed in to separate the two groups. Online groups that have voiced support for the protest include 'Patriots of Britain' and 'Together for the Children'. The Metropolitan Police said on Friday that plans were in place to 'respond to any protest activity in the vicinity of other hotels in London being used to accommodate asylum seekers'. There were also posts online advertising a 'for our children, for our future' protest in Newcastle on Saturday outside The New Bridge Hotel. A 'stop the far right and fascists in Newcastle' counter-protest had been organised by Stand Up To Racism at the nearby Laing Art Gallery. In a statement, the organisers of the counter protest said: 'Yet again far-right and fascist thugs are intent on bringing their message of hate to Newcastle. They aim to build on years of Islamophobia, anti-migrant sentiment and scapegoating. 'In Epping and elsewhere recently we have already seen intimidation and violence aimed at refugees, migrants and asylum seekers. 'Newcastle, like the rest of the North East, has a well-earned reputation for unity in the face of those who seek to divide us. Whatever problems we face, racism and division are not the answer.' On Saturday evening, a spokesperson for Northumbria Police said: 'The safety of the public is our utmost priority and when we became aware of a protest planned in Newcastle today, we ensured we had an increased presence in the city to deliver a proportionate policing response. 'While the activity mainly passed without incident, disappointingly, four people were arrested in connection with public order offences. 'All four remain in police custody. 'The right to lawful protest is a key part of any democracy, which the police uphold. 'However, we will not accept people using them as a means to commit crime or disorder.' About 100 people attended a protest outside the Stanwell Hotel in Spelthorne, Surrey, on Friday evening, during which a packet of lit firelighters was thrown at police, Surrey Police said. A man was arrested on suspicion of attempted arson and inquiries are ongoing to trace another suspect, the force said. Officers also arrested a man on suspicion of conspiracy to commit violent disorder and aggravated trespass following a protest at the same location on Thursday evening.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
‘Grow Up': Conservative Senators, Economists Slam Trump for Firing Labor Stats Chief
Republicans are angry that Donald Trump fired the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics after the bureau's lackluster jobs report showed a weak economy on Friday. Trump accused commissioner Erika McEntarfer, who was appointed by Joe Biden, of fabricating statistics now as well as before the 2024 election. Friday's jobs report found that the U.S. economy added only 73,000 jobs in July. 'In my opinion, today's Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad,' he wrote on Friday, adding: 'But, the good news is, our Country is doing GREAT!' He implied the numbers had been 'manipulated for political purposes,' and announced he had ordered McEntarfer's firing. Several Republican senators and right-leaning experts have criticized Trump for the decision. 'If the president is firing the statistician because he doesn't like the numbers but they are accurate, then that's a problem,' Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wy.) told The Guardian. 'It's not the statistician's fault if the numbers are accurate and that they're not what the president had hoped for.' 'If she was just fired because the president or whoever decided to fire the director just … because they didn't like the numbers, they ought to grow up,' said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). 'We have to look somewhere for objective statistics,' Sen. Rand Paul, (R-Ky.) told NBC News. 'When the people providing the statistics are fired, it makes it much harder to make judgments that you know, the statistics won't be politicized.' 'I'm going to look into it, but first impression is that you can't really make the numbers different or better by firing the people doing the counting,' he added. Economist William Beach, whom Trump appointed as BLS commissioner during his first term, posted on X, 'The totally groundless firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, my successor as Commissioner of Labor Statistics at BLS, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau.' Douglas Holtz-Eakin — the president of the American Action Forum, a center-right think tank — weighed in as well. 'There have been countless BLS revisions, and many BLS Commissioners, but only ONE sitting President has fired a BLS head,' he wrote. 'You do the math.' McEntarfer said on social media that serving as commissioner was 'the honor of [her] life' and the BLS carried out 'vital and important work.' In a statement, the Friends of the Bureau of Labor Statistics called Trump's accusations against McEntarfer 'baseless' and 'damaging,' adding that the president is attacking 'the independence and integrity of the federal statistical system.' Trump additionally wrote Friday that Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whom he's long wanted to fire, 'should also be put 'out to pasture.'' More from Rolling Stone You May Be Asking Yourself How Did Dan Bongino Get Here Trump Fires Labor Stats Chief Following Weak Jobs Report MAGA's New Russiagate 'Evidence' Was Likely Made Up by the Kremlin Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence