Latest news with #GaryNeville
Telegraph
15 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of Gary Neville's money
As a footballer Gary Neville was not known for his versatility. He was a one-club man who trundled up and down the right flank like a plough-horse. So it is heartening to see him switching things up politically. This week he became the latest Labour supporter to turn on them over tax. 'I honestly don't believe […] companies and small businesses should be deterred from employing people,' said Neville, who owns several businesses alongside his punditry gigs. 'So, I think the National Insurance rise was one that I feel probably could have been held back.' Leaving to one side the fact that Sky viewers might not mind living without his rabid commentary, there is a delicious schadenfreude in watching Neville, a noisy Labour fan, change tack. Last June, he even proved his commitment by taking Keir Starmer up the Langdale Pikes for a campaign interview, in what must have been the most tedious man-marking job of his life. Until recently Rachel Reeves has been blessed in her enemies. When she and Starmer broke a manifesto promise to whack farmers with inheritance tax, they couldn't have hoped for a better opponent than Jeremy Clarkson. Here was not some sympathetic turnip-tender on the breadline but a celeb who was on the record as saying dodging IHT was a reason he bought a farm. Number 10 must have rejoiced again in March when Alexander Armstrong, arguably the pre-eminent primetime posho, complained about VAT on private school fees. His quip that he was feeling 'extremely poor' did not land well with those who were actually feeling extremely poor. Now, even Labour's fans are rethinking. Neville was not the first. In February, the Iceland boss Richard Walker, who had supported Reeves' Budget, warned that, while it was right to look at 'levelling the playing field on tax', the Government had 'parked its tractor in the wrong place going after hard-working British farmers'. The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money. Even Gary Neville's. Lower the voting age? Here's a better solution Full credit to Jeremy Corbyn for waiting until Labour had said they would lower the voting age before announcing his new party. The Government thought letting 16 and 17-year-olds have a go at the ballot box might give them the edge in a few marginals. Instead, they might hand a sizeable bloc to Corbo and his band of plucky dreamers, not to mention the Greens and even Reform. Luckily for Keir Starmer I have a solution. Rather than lowering the voting age, he should introduce a cut-off. Many problems in the UK are, we're told, down to our limitless brigades of pensioners. As they don't have day jobs or Xboxes to occupy them, voting provides a welcome distraction. With gilded pensions and houses they bought for a shilling and sixpence, they vote to preserve their interests. But you have to reapply for your driving licence at 70, so why not your voting licence? A short quiz could determine eligibility: should we keep the triple lock? Should the winter fuel allowance be extended to summer? Is the PM too young? Are the policemen too young? Is the Pope too young? I can foresee objections, so how about a compromise: you have 50 eligible voting years in your life and you can choose when to use them. If you wanted to torch them on idealism at 16, you would be free to, but you wouldn't be able to defend your pension later. Either way, surely this would be the kind of bold move Starmer had in mind when he promised 'action, not words'. At least, that's what he told Gary Neville, on a hillside in Cumbria.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Gary Neville, YouTube and online protections
In today's episode of the Sky News Business Podcast, Darren McCaffrey speaks to former Manchester United and England footballer-turned-business-owner Gary Neville about the government's national insurance rise. Darren also discusses YouTube becoming the second most-watched TV service in the UK. And he chats to the chief executive of EE about what the mobile network's doing to comply with the Online Safety Act. :: Listen and subscribe to the .
The Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Labour-backing Gary Neville slams Rachel Reeves over crippling tax hikes on businesses
LABOUR-loving ex-footballer Gary Neville today tore into Rachel Reeves for hammering businesses with tax hikes. The ex-Manchester United ace, who campaigned and cast his vote for Sir Keir Starmer, admitted the Chancellor's national insurance hike on employers 'could have been held back'. 1 The businessman told Sky News: 'I honestly don't believe that, to be fair, companies and small businesses should be deterred from employing people. 'So, I think the National Insurance rise was one that I feel probably could have been held back, particularly in terms of the way in which the economy was.' Mr Neville said he backs Labour's minimum wage hike – but warned that tax raids on businesses were becoming a serious 'challenge'. Responding to the stinging rebuke, Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty said: 'When even Gary Neville is critical of the National Insurance rises in the disastrous Labour budget, it's fair to say that Rachel Reeves has even lost the Labour changing room.' A Conservative insider added: 'Gary Neville is clearly discovering that if you play silly games, you win silly prizes.' Meanwhile, British business activity is forecast to shrink at its fastest pace since the 2020 pandemic. The Confederation of British Industry today revealed a 'wave of pessimism' has swept through industry since Labour took the reins. Economists warned the 'negative sentiment' shows no signs of easing, with the economy set to nosedive further over the next three months. The CBI's business barometer found bosses are still grappling with the fallout from the Chancellor's £25bn national insurance raid. Firms also remain wary of the ripple effects of global trade policies, even though the UK has dodged the worst of Donald Trump's tariffs. Alpesh Paleja, the CBI's deputy chief economist, said: 'Firms continue to face testing conditions, with expectations pointing to another quarter of falling activity across the economy. 'While not worsening, the persistently negative outlook underlines the fragility of demand conditions. 'Against this backdrop, businesses continue to cite headwinds from adjusting to higher employment costs, energy prices and continued uncertainty from a volatile global environment. 'With few signs of recovery on the horizon, firms are focused on managing costs and streamlining processes in what looks set to be a subdued second half of the year.'
Sky News
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Gary Neville, YouTube and online protections
In today's episode of the Sky News Business Podcast, Darren McCaffrey speaks to former Manchester United and England footballer-turned-business-owner Gary Neville about the government's national insurance rise. Darren also discusses YouTube becoming the second most-watched TV service in the UK. And he chats to the chief executive of EE about what the mobile network's doing to comply with the Online Safety Act.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Gary Neville hits out at Rachel Reeves over national insurance hike
Gary Neville has hit out at Rachel Reeves for her national insurance hike, saying it has hampered employment and 'could have been held back'. The ex-Manchester United star said the chancellor has significantly increased the burden on businesses and that the national insurance increase was 'a challenge'. Mr Neville was a vocal backer of Labour at the last general election, at one point walking in the fells of the Lake District with Sir Keir Starmer for a video endorsing the party. But he has now joined business leaders and economists in attacking the chancellor's decisions since entering government. Critics say Ms Reeves and Sir Keir's doom and gloom in the wake of the election, as well as the chancellor's tax-hiking October Budget, held back the economy. Speaking to Sky's Business Live, Mr Neville, whose firms employ hundreds of staff, said: 'I honestly don't believe that, to be fair, companies and small businesses should be deterred from employing people. So, I think the national insurance rise was one that I feel probably could have been held back, particularly in terms of the way in which the economy was. 'It's been a tough economy now for a good few years and I did think that once there was a change of government, and once there was some stability, that we would get some settling. "But it's not settling locally in our country, but it is not settling actually, to be fair, in many places in the world either.' Mr Neville supported the chancellor's minimum wage increase, which has also piled pressure on some businesses. 'People, to be fair, should be paid more so I don't think that's something that you can be critical of,' he added. But he said: 'I do think that the national insurance rise, though, was a challenge.' The footballer's comments come months before the chancellor's second Budget, in which she is seeking to find billions of pounds of tax hikes and spending cuts to fill a hole left by Labour's chaotic winter fuel U-turn. Ms Reeves was left with a £5bn gap in her spending plans when Sir Keir abandoned his planned benefit cuts, and could need to find billions more due to the fallout from Donald Trump's global trade war. She received a minor boost on Tuesday as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slightly upgraded its 2025 growth forecast for the UK economy. The global body's latest World Economic Outlook said the economy would grow by 1.2 per cent this year, up from an earlier prediction of 1.1 per cent. Solve the daily Crossword
