Plans to 'criminalise' homelessness scrapped following backlash - but charity reiterates concern

The government has scrapped plans that critics argued would have "criminalised" homelessness following a backlash from Conservative MPs.

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We've never had two leaders going head to head for Prime Minister who are so boring, says Nigel Farage

So a big speech this morning from Rishi Sunak, a long speech from Rishi Sunak. I thought, you know what, I'm going to sit down. I'm going to watch all of this.

Whatever the content of the speech, and the riposte that we got from Keir Starmer, I have to say, in terms of delivery, after about 15 to 20 minutes, I was beginning to nod off.

There was no energy, there was no spark, there was no fizz.

Yet the arguments he was making were fundamentally important arguments.

He's saying the world is a less safe place than it's been at any moment since the Cuban Missile Crisis, and that he is the right man to lead the country.

Unsurprisingly, Sir Keir Starmer responded later on this afternoon.

He said: "The first duty of any government, particularly an incoming Labour government, is national security, the security of the country and that would be my first priority.

"Now the Prime Minister today has made a speech. I think it is seventh reset in 18 months. And I think that really shows you that the choice as we go into this election is now pretty clear."

Well, I don't know in terms of style, I can't imagine, perhaps I'm wrong, perhaps I'm being completely unfair.

I can't imagine we've ever had two leaders going head to head for who's going to be the next prime minister, who are, frankly, so boring.

I think we can predict a very, very low turnout.

But back to the important question.

Given the challenges we face both externally and internally, who is the right person to lead the country forward after the next election?

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‘Starmer will bring in mansion tax by granting huge council tax increases for nice areas and nice homes,’ writes Kelvin MacKenzie

Thanks to The Telegraph, I learned that Labour’s Welsh Government is using satellites to spy on the homes of their residents who have made something of their lives. They are tracking nice homes in decent areas so that they can penalise them with dramatically higher council tax.

If you have a semi or a detached house with a large garden, or live near a good school, or the area is comparatively crime-free then the Senedd will introduce higher council tax bands so your local authority can add many thousands of pounds to what you pay annually.

You might think, ‘well that’s the price for living in a nation which is skint and has only ever produced socialists (and the NHS!) and it serves them right’. You would be so wrong.

Starmer has said he will not be putting up income tax (the consummate liar Gordon Brown made the same promise) but that doesn’t mean your pocket will not be emptied by Labour in order to subsidise those who prefer to sit on their increasingly large rear ends while you do the work.

So, you can be absolutely sure that Starmer will be adopting the Welsh idea. Already the average council tax bill is £2,065, but the H band in areas like Nottingham are an eye-watering £4,823, Lewes is £4,776 and Dorset £4,776.

That’s already £100 a week. What do we get for that? Our bins taken, potholes aren’t repaired and police who are never seen and never catch a burglar. And the idea is that a Labour Government wants even more.

What is equally ridiculous is the way that councils keep the rents of their tenants artificially low. In places like Westminster where you can expect to pay £2,000+ a month for a flat, the council charges £600-700 in rent. And the council tax for affordable homes in Westminster can be as low as £700 annually.

Wouldn’t we all like to live in Westminster at those prices. Plus, with a bit of trickery and limp, you can claim housing benefits and PIP and effectively live for nothing.

Why don’t we start charging those living in council-owned accommodation what they can afford? It’s like that in the private area. With minimum wage being £11.44 an hour, those doing a 40-hour week are making north of £23,000.

Don’t tell me that with a couple both in work making between them £46,000, they couldn’t, and should, be paying more than £700 a month. Means testing must be bought in.

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I absolutely guarantee that Starmer and Reeves will raise taxes all over the place with their version of a mansion tax - a dramatic increase in council tax being the first.

Getting to work to pay these new and unexpected bills won’t be getting any easier under Labour either, with the return to total state ownership of the railways.

Once again commuting became a game of chance last week with Aslef striking and yet most of the nightmare was caused by companies which have already been taken back into state ownership.

Northern, Southeastern, Welsh Railways, the Transpennines and Northern are all fully owned by the Government.

With Labour in charge, the unions know that they have a sporting chance of keeping all the terms and conditions (i.e. doing as little as possible) plus the opportunity of the management caving in to unreasonable pay demands because the management is in fact the Government.

Today most of trade unionism is concentrated in the public sector, with 48 per cent of state employees belonging to a union compared with 12 per cent of private sector workers.

So, it will fare easier to give in to the strikers, get the network running again and worry about where the money is coming from on another day.

If the polls are right, a 200+majority for Starmer will mean the number of Lefty MPs coming in will treble, meaning there will be a lot more support for the doctors wanting to kill your old mum for a pay rise or more for the Aslef drivers who have been buggering up your travel for the last couple of years.

Incredible that none of this is ever brought to public discussion by the lefties at the BBC or even ITV. It has to be raised by either GB News or The Telegraph and Labour would love to shut it down.

So, personally, I am grateful to a) The shareholders who made this discussion possible and b) To you who support with both your brain and your wallet. Thank you.

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PM to set out 'bold ideas' in 'major' speech

Rishi Sunak will give a speech on Monday setting out "bold ideas to change society" - as he seeks to regain momentum following the defection of one of his MPs to Labour and a hammering at the local elections.

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The Week… Rishi Sunak questions if we'd be safe under Labour

Two of Westminster's best-connected journalists, Sky News' Sam Coates and Politico's Jack Blanchard, guide you through their top predictions for the next seven days in British politics.

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‘Labour’s state pension promise is bad for the country - a U-turn is needed’, writes Patrick O’Donnell

Britons are rightfully concerned about their retirement future and the Labour Party is hoping to relieve their concern ahead of the next General Election.

Sir Keir Starmer is hoping to secure more of the pensioner vote later this year but voters should be wary about trusting the Official Opposition’s promises.

Earlier this week, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed her party would not raise the state pension age when it likely returns to power.

Reeves described the proposal to hike the retirement age threshold earlier than planned as not “justifiable” during a phone-in interview with LBC.

She said: “What you’d need to see for any further increases in the state pension age is life expectancy increasing and sadly it’s going backwards at the moment, but also healthy life expectancy, and sadly that is also going back at the moment.

“So I don’t think there’s any justification for further increases in the state pension age.”

Do you have a money story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing money@gbnews.uk.

This comes after both Labour and the Conservatives have publicly pledged to keep the triple lock, the metric used to determine the annual state pension rate hike.

While this may sound good on paper, politicians need to be honest about the cost on the public purse by keeping the state pension status quo as it is.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned that spending on the retirement benefit will lie within a range of £5billion to £45billion by 2050.

For the Shadow Chancellor to commit to not raising the state pension age with these estimates is alarming.

There is no feasible way to prepare for future Budgets when pension expenditure can balloon dramatically within the space of the year.

During the cost of living crisis, state pension payments jumped by over 10 per cent thanks to the UK experiencing historic high levels of inflation.

Money for the state pension comes from current taxpayers of working-age, a generation who are unlikely to get the same state pension their parents and grandparents have.

Pensioners deserve financial support and the cost of living crisis has been tough on millions of older households.

However, that should never be at the expense of the retirement prospects of future generations.

The state pension age is already set to jump from 66 to 67 in 2028, and then to 68 by the mid-2040s.

However, experts have suggested that it should be hiked to 70 by 2024 to balance the books.

Labour has made an effort to return to the centre ground of British politics with “common sense” policies likely to be part of their agenda in power.

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The left wing party has faced scrutiny over its stances on the welfare state and public spending in the past. It should not get a pass on spending just because it sounds like it suits pensioner.s

U-turns have become a staple of Starmer’s time in power so pensioners should prepare to be thrown under the bus.

From ceasefires in Gaza to the nationalisation of public services, there are few policies the “new” Labour has kept in place to the ire of the party’s base and the confusion of swing voters.

Despite this track record, a U-turn on this state pension age pledge would be most welcome and signal Labour’s seriousness about getting the country back on track after years of mismanagement.

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Labour is gambling Tory MP's defection shows which way political wind is blowing | Adam Boulton

The Labour Party is in shock over the leadership's decision to welcome the defection of the right-wing former Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke.

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