“Donald Trump has launched a fresh assault on Sir Keir Starmer mocking the PM as no Winston Churchill. Speaking in the Oval Office the US President doubled down on his attacks on the PM over his blocking of the use the UK base in Diego Garcia to bomb Iran. Just hours after telling The Sun the Special Relationship was “not what it used to be”, Mr Trump told reporters: “I’m not happy with the UK.” And speaking in front of a bust Britain’s wartime hero, President Trump unleashed his latest withering assessment of the PM. Referencing Sir Keir’s botched attempts to giveaway the Chagos Islands, he added: “That island. He made a lease of the island. Somebody came and took it away from him.” Mr Trump added: “This is not the age of Churchill.. the UK has been very unhelpful, with that stupid island of theirs… what is that all about? They have ruined relationships – its a shame.” The US has withdrawn support for Labour’s deal over concerns they would lose access to the crucial airbase in the Indian Ocean that could have refuelled B2 bombers striking the Mullahs. The President added: “And it’s taken 3 or 4 days for us to work out where we can land. This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.” The latest attack came after Downing Street said the US is still a “staunch” ally after Donald Trump launched another broadside against Sir Keir Starmer over the Middle East war.” – The Sun
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> Today:
“Labour’s stealth raid on workers will drive Britain’s tax burden up to a fresh record high, rising further and faster than previously forecast. Taxes will rake in £1.4tn per year by the start of the next decade, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), up from £1.2tn today. That is equivalent to 38.5pc of GDP, up from 36.3pc in this financial year and higher than the 38.3pc predicted by the OBR at the time of Rachel Reeves’s Budget in November. Critically, it is even further above the previous record tax burden of 37.2pc borne in 1948-49, when Britain was beginning to pay down the vast debts it accrued defeating the Nazis in the Second World War. “Rising income tax revenues account for nearly half of the rise in receipts as a share of GDP, reflecting the freezing of personal tax thresholds until the end of 2030-31,” said the OBR in its forecast on Tuesday. Ms Reeves’s decision in November to freeze income tax thresholds means that millions of workers will be pulled into paying tax for the first time or into higher bands as they receive pay rises, even if the spending power of their wages falls in real terms. This is a powerful stealth tax. The OBR estimates that by 2030-31, the freeze will rake in £67bn per year for the Treasury.” – Daily Telegraph
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> Yesterday:
“Britain must “double down” on net zero after the Iran crisis sent energy prices soaring, the Business Secretary has said. Peter Kyle said building more renewables such as solar and wind would help reduce the country’s exposure to oil and gas coming from “parts of the world which are fundamentally unstable”. His comments came after the conflict in the Middle East sent the European gas price up 80pc and oil prices nearly 20pc as Iranian strikes on production facilities in the Gulf spooked markets and sparked fears of a supply crunch. If sustained, analysts have warned that the surge threatens to trigger a sharp rise in household bills and fuel costs comparable to that which followed the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Mr Kyle said on Tuesday: “Doubling down on renewables is, yes, right for climate change, it’s, yes, right for jobs. It is also essential because we keep on seeing these lived examples of how instability, through regional instability, is creeping into our energy prices, for which the British Government has no agency.” The transition to green energy was “about sovereignty,” Mr Kyle added. Ministers have repeatedly blamed gas prices for high energy prices in Britain, where households and businesses pay some of the most expensive bills in the developed world. But energy suppliers recently pushed back against this narrative and warned that the biggest driver of bills over the next few years will be green levies and network charges, which are soaring, resulting from the Government’s net zero plans.” – Daily Telegraph
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> Today: