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| MPs debate health and social care tax rise after Starmer accuses Johnson of ‘hammering workers’ – UK politics live | MPs debate health and social care tax rise after Starmer accuses Johnson of ‘hammering workers’ – UK politics live |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| MPs debate tax rise after Keir Starmer atacks Boris Johnson’s tax plans during PMQs | MPs debate tax rise after Keir Starmer atacks Boris Johnson’s tax plans during PMQs |
| Back in the Commons Steve Baker, the Conservative former minister, is speaking now about the plan for a £12bn health and social care levy. He says the problem is that it is what Labour would be doing. Debt is too high, he says. Sooner or later we will find the state cannot afford the promises it is making to older people. | |
| He says this is the beginning of a generational crisis. The country can now no longer afford the welfare promises made to citizens, he says. Other countries face the same problem. “We are in a dreadful position,” he says. | |
| He says there will be only one party that can address this - the Conservative party. | |
| He says they will have to rediscover their confidence as free-market Conservatives. | |
| He will not be able to vote with the government tonight, he says. | |
| Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, has said he got Marcus Rashford muddled with Maro Itoje because he had mixed up the two issues the men had been campaigning on, which both came up in his Evening Standard interview. (See 1.28pm.) Williamson said: | |
| It would have been easy to include an apology in the statement, but Williamson chose not to. | It would have been easy to include an apology in the statement, but Williamson chose not to. |
| Nicola Sturgeon has told MSPs that her government’s controversial proposals for vaccine passports are “a reasonable response to a very difficult situation, and much more proportionate than any likely alternatives”, ahead of a debate on the plans in Holyrood tomorrow. | Nicola Sturgeon has told MSPs that her government’s controversial proposals for vaccine passports are “a reasonable response to a very difficult situation, and much more proportionate than any likely alternatives”, ahead of a debate on the plans in Holyrood tomorrow. |
| Opposition parties have raised concerns that the plans to require vaccine certification for entry to nightclubs and large-scale gatherings such as music festivals and football matches threaten civil liberties and risk increasing vaccine hesitancy. | |
| The Scottish Greens are under particular scrutiny having previously described vaccine passports as “a real danger to generational injustice”. Since signing their cooperation deal with the Scottish government they are bound by collective responsibility on the issue. | |
| During her Covid statement to the Scottish parliament, Sturgeon said it was important to bear in mind that Scotland was far from alone in considering the scheme. She said: | During her Covid statement to the Scottish parliament, Sturgeon said it was important to bear in mind that Scotland was far from alone in considering the scheme. She said: |
| Sturgeon also said that, although infection levels were showing welcome signs of stabilisation, they remained “far too high” across the country, with hospital occupancy rising sharply. | |
| She added that recent data gave her hope that “we can turn the corner through continued care and caution and stringent compliance with existing mitigations and without having to re-introduce any tighter restrictions”. | She added that recent data gave her hope that “we can turn the corner through continued care and caution and stringent compliance with existing mitigations and without having to re-introduce any tighter restrictions”. |
| Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, has said he supports the proposal from his fellow leftwinger Richard Burgon for the national insurance increase to be replaced by a wealth tax on people with assets worth more than £5m. (See 11.52am.) | Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, has said he supports the proposal from his fellow leftwinger Richard Burgon for the national insurance increase to be replaced by a wealth tax on people with assets worth more than £5m. (See 11.52am.) |
| Earlier in the Commons Conservative MPs urged the government to drop plans for vaccine passports after accusing a minister of talking “rubbish” and picking an “unnecessary fight” with them, PA Media reports. It says the vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, also caused head-shaking among colleagues when he told MPs there would be “some essential services which will not need” people to show a Covid passport – heightening their fears over the government’s proposals. | |
| The government has said it wants to ensure that, from the end of September, people attending nightclubs in England will need to show that they have been fully vaccinated. | The government has said it wants to ensure that, from the end of September, people attending nightclubs in England will need to show that they have been fully vaccinated. |
| In response to an urgent question on this, Zahawi told MPs: | In response to an urgent question on this, Zahawi told MPs: |
| But William Wragg (Con) told Zahawi: | But William Wragg (Con) told Zahawi: |
| Back in the Commons Jake Berry, the former minister who now chairs the Northern Research Group, which represents Tory MP from the north of England, is speaking now. | Back in the Commons Jake Berry, the former minister who now chairs the Northern Research Group, which represents Tory MP from the north of England, is speaking now. |
| Berry spoke out about the plans before the full details were published and, unlike some “rebel” Tories who have changed their tune, he is restating his objections. | Berry spoke out about the plans before the full details were published and, unlike some “rebel” Tories who have changed their tune, he is restating his objections. |
| He says he fears it could be “particularly damaging” for people living in the north. It will affect people on lower incomes, he says, and in the north property prices are lower, meaning they are more at risk of losing their homes. | He says he fears it could be “particularly damaging” for people living in the north. It will affect people on lower incomes, he says, and in the north property prices are lower, meaning they are more at risk of losing their homes. |
| His Tory colleague, Dehenna Davison, intervenes to suggest that the government should take account of regional disparities when setting the means-test thresholds for care. Berry says that is an excellent idea. | His Tory colleague, Dehenna Davison, intervenes to suggest that the government should take account of regional disparities when setting the means-test thresholds for care. Berry says that is an excellent idea. |
| He also says he is concerned that the levy will become a permanent NHS tax. No party will be able to agree to take away money from the NHS, he says. And he says this will ultimately harm the Tories because we will never outbid the Labour Party in the arms race of an NHS tax”. | He also says he is concerned that the levy will become a permanent NHS tax. No party will be able to agree to take away money from the NHS, he says. And he says this will ultimately harm the Tories because we will never outbid the Labour Party in the arms race of an NHS tax”. |
| He says for these reasons he will not be supporting the government tonight. | He says for these reasons he will not be supporting the government tonight. |
| (That does not necessarily mean he will vote against; he may just be abstaining.) | (That does not necessarily mean he will vote against; he may just be abstaining.) |
| The UK’s vaccines watchdog is expected to decide tomorrow about a Covid booster vaccine programme, with ministers hopeful that approval for vaccinations for 12- to 15-year-olds could follow imminently, my colleagues Peter Walker and Rowena Mason report. | The UK’s vaccines watchdog is expected to decide tomorrow about a Covid booster vaccine programme, with ministers hopeful that approval for vaccinations for 12- to 15-year-olds could follow imminently, my colleagues Peter Walker and Rowena Mason report. |
| Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, ended her Commons speech with panto-style call-and-response routine summarising Labour’s objections to the £12bn health and social care levy. | Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, ended her Commons speech with panto-style call-and-response routine summarising Labour’s objections to the £12bn health and social care levy. |
| It was a very good speech, which had a lot more clarity and passion than Sir Keir Starmer’s two contributions on this issue yesterday and today. | It was a very good speech, which had a lot more clarity and passion than Sir Keir Starmer’s two contributions on this issue yesterday and today. |
| Reeves says there are alternatives to the way the government is raising money. | Reeves says there are alternatives to the way the government is raising money. |
| The government’s plan will lead to a graduate on an entry level salary paying effectively a marginal rate of tax of almost 50%. (That includes the impact of having to repay a graduate loan.) | The government’s plan will lead to a graduate on an entry level salary paying effectively a marginal rate of tax of almost 50%. (That includes the impact of having to repay a graduate loan.) |
| She contrasts that with Amazon. Yesterday it reported paying just £3.8m more in corporation tax than it had in 2019, even though its sales were up by almost £2bn. | She contrasts that with Amazon. Yesterday it reported paying just £3.8m more in corporation tax than it had in 2019, even though its sales were up by almost £2bn. |
| She says politics is about choices. The chancellor wants people to think that there are not alternative ways of raising the money, but there are, she says. | She says politics is about choices. The chancellor wants people to think that there are not alternative ways of raising the money, but there are, she says. |
| Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman has confirmed that Labour will vote against the government’s resolution tonight. He said: | Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman has confirmed that Labour will vote against the government’s resolution tonight. He said: |
| Asked if that meant Labour would be vulnerable to claims it was voting against an extra £36bn for health and social care, he replied: | Asked if that meant Labour would be vulnerable to claims it was voting against an extra £36bn for health and social care, he replied: |
| Jesse Norman intervenes, and tells Reeves that Labour has not got a plan. He also quotes from the Resolution Foundation’s analysis (pdf) of the plan, which said: “The increased generosity of the means-test that will have relatively more impact in lower wealth regions.” | Jesse Norman intervenes, and tells Reeves that Labour has not got a plan. He also quotes from the Resolution Foundation’s analysis (pdf) of the plan, which said: “The increased generosity of the means-test that will have relatively more impact in lower wealth regions.” |
| Reeves responds by asking who someone with a home worth £186,000 would be able to find the £86,000 they might need to pay for care costs under the PM’s plans without selling their home. | Reeves responds by asking who someone with a home worth £186,000 would be able to find the £86,000 they might need to pay for care costs under the PM’s plans without selling their home. |
| Labour’s Chris Bryant intervenes to back Reeves. He says in his Rhondda constituency in south Wales 70% of people own their own home. But the average house is worth £98,000, he says. | Labour’s Chris Bryant intervenes to back Reeves. He says in his Rhondda constituency in south Wales 70% of people own their own home. But the average house is worth £98,000, he says. |
| In the Commons Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, is opening for Labour. While Jesse Norman delivered a low-key, largely technical speech, Reeves starts at full throttle, in what is turning into a much more political broadside. | In the Commons Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, is opening for Labour. While Jesse Norman delivered a low-key, largely technical speech, Reeves starts at full throttle, in what is turning into a much more political broadside. |
| She says there are two tests for the package funded yesterday. | She says there are two tests for the package funded yesterday. |
| In his speech opening the debate Jesse Norman, the Treasury minister, said the £12bn health and social care levy was a profoundly conservative measures because it was providing for future generations, without increasing borrowing. | In his speech opening the debate Jesse Norman, the Treasury minister, said the £12bn health and social care levy was a profoundly conservative measures because it was providing for future generations, without increasing borrowing. |
| MPs are now debating the government’s motion approving the £12bn health and social care levy. | MPs are now debating the government’s motion approving the £12bn health and social care levy. |
| Nigel Evans, the deputy speaker, says the Labour amendment has been selected. That is the one saying the resolution should be passed conditional on the government publishing an impact assessment showing how it will impact on different income groups and regions. (See 11.52am.) | Nigel Evans, the deputy speaker, says the Labour amendment has been selected. That is the one saying the resolution should be passed conditional on the government publishing an impact assessment showing how it will impact on different income groups and regions. (See 11.52am.) |
| Jesse Norman, a junior Treasury minister, is opening the debate for the government. For something this important, you would normally expect a cabinet minister to take the lead. But ministers are now very comfortable of winning, and the fact that Norman has been put up suggests the whips are not anticipating much trouble. | Jesse Norman, a junior Treasury minister, is opening the debate for the government. For something this important, you would normally expect a cabinet minister to take the lead. But ministers are now very comfortable of winning, and the fact that Norman has been put up suggests the whips are not anticipating much trouble. |
| Gavin Williamson said he had met England footballer Marcus Rashford online when he had in fact met rugby player Maro Itoje, the Evening Standard has reported. | Gavin Williamson said he had met England footballer Marcus Rashford online when he had in fact met rugby player Maro Itoje, the Evening Standard has reported. |
| The paper includes the revelation in an interview with Williamson by Susannah Butter. She writes: | The paper includes the revelation in an interview with Williamson by Susannah Butter. She writes: |
| David Lammy, the shadow justice secretary, has said that Williamson’s apparent failure to be able to tell the difference between two black sportsmen is “appalling”. | David Lammy, the shadow justice secretary, has said that Williamson’s apparent failure to be able to tell the difference between two black sportsmen is “appalling”. |
| And this is Rashford’s response. | And this is Rashford’s response. |
| Boris Johnson quite comfortably had the best of that encounter. Being back in a crowded House of Commons helped (the Tory backbenchers were cheering quite a lot, and that always serves to buoy a minister at the dispatch box), but mostly it was because Johnson came across as someone still flabbergasted by how well his £12bn manifesto-busting tax increase seems to have landed. Sir Keir Starmer was better than he was in the chamber yesterday, but Labour’s response remains unfocused and unpersuasive. | Boris Johnson quite comfortably had the best of that encounter. Being back in a crowded House of Commons helped (the Tory backbenchers were cheering quite a lot, and that always serves to buoy a minister at the dispatch box), but mostly it was because Johnson came across as someone still flabbergasted by how well his £12bn manifesto-busting tax increase seems to have landed. Sir Keir Starmer was better than he was in the chamber yesterday, but Labour’s response remains unfocused and unpersuasive. |
| Starmer started by raising an issue that had Sajid Javid rattled when it came up on the Today programme this morning: the failure of the plan announced yesterday to ensure that no one will have to sell their home to pay for social care. (See 10.22am.) It is a key topic because, until yesterday, about the only specific thing Johnson would say about his thinking on social care was that he wanted to stop people having to sell the family home and, as Starmer pointed out, the new plans will not achieve that for people who do not have a spare £86,000 to hand in cash, on top of the family home. So far, though, this drawback with the plan does not seem to have resonated widely with the media. Partly that’s because there are mechanisms available to ensure that, even if people have to sell the family home to pay for care, they do not necessarily have to move out of it while they are alive. And partly, perhaps, it is because people may have assumed (again) that Johnson’s promise was unrealistic in the first place. | Starmer started by raising an issue that had Sajid Javid rattled when it came up on the Today programme this morning: the failure of the plan announced yesterday to ensure that no one will have to sell their home to pay for social care. (See 10.22am.) It is a key topic because, until yesterday, about the only specific thing Johnson would say about his thinking on social care was that he wanted to stop people having to sell the family home and, as Starmer pointed out, the new plans will not achieve that for people who do not have a spare £86,000 to hand in cash, on top of the family home. So far, though, this drawback with the plan does not seem to have resonated widely with the media. Partly that’s because there are mechanisms available to ensure that, even if people have to sell the family home to pay for care, they do not necessarily have to move out of it while they are alive. And partly, perhaps, it is because people may have assumed (again) that Johnson’s promise was unrealistic in the first place. |
| Yesterday Starmer was criticising the Tories for no longer being the party of low tax. Given that Labour itself is not a low-tax party, this was problematic, and today he was focusing more on another dividing line: he criticised Johnson for penalising working people with his tax plans, saying Labour would tax those with the “broadest shoulders” instead. Given that the Resolution Foundation, a thinktank not hostile to Labour, says the national insurance increase is “progressive”, this argument is questionable, but it exposes a more fundamental weakness in Starmer’s position. He ended his exchanges by saying he was facing “the same old Tory party”, yet it is obvious that Johnson’s brand of Conservatism is not the same as the austerity model of 10 years ago. It was reminiscent of John Major’s doomed attempt to depict Tony Blair as an old-style socialist. In politics, as in all other forms of conflict, to beat the enemy, you need to understand them first. | Yesterday Starmer was criticising the Tories for no longer being the party of low tax. Given that Labour itself is not a low-tax party, this was problematic, and today he was focusing more on another dividing line: he criticised Johnson for penalising working people with his tax plans, saying Labour would tax those with the “broadest shoulders” instead. Given that the Resolution Foundation, a thinktank not hostile to Labour, says the national insurance increase is “progressive”, this argument is questionable, but it exposes a more fundamental weakness in Starmer’s position. He ended his exchanges by saying he was facing “the same old Tory party”, yet it is obvious that Johnson’s brand of Conservatism is not the same as the austerity model of 10 years ago. It was reminiscent of John Major’s doomed attempt to depict Tony Blair as an old-style socialist. In politics, as in all other forms of conflict, to beat the enemy, you need to understand them first. |
| It would also help to have a clearer alternative offer. Starmer probably does not need a fully-costed policy blueprint, but he does need something more than a vague intention to fund social care with higher taxes for the wealthy if he is going to convince voters that Labour is more credible on this issue. Johnson’s line about at least having a policy, unlike the opposition, clearly strikes a chord. And at the moment he seems to be beating Labour on health - a remarkable achievement for a Conservative PM. | It would also help to have a clearer alternative offer. Starmer probably does not need a fully-costed policy blueprint, but he does need something more than a vague intention to fund social care with higher taxes for the wealthy if he is going to convince voters that Labour is more credible on this issue. Johnson’s line about at least having a policy, unlike the opposition, clearly strikes a chord. And at the moment he seems to be beating Labour on health - a remarkable achievement for a Conservative PM. |
| Judging by the cheering, Tory MPs sounded more happy with their leader’s performance than Labour’s did. This is not always a good guide to who has done best, but PMQs matters almost as much for what it can do to a leader’s reputation with the parliamentary party as it does for their reputation with the public at large, and this afternoon the Conservative do seem to be in a much happier place. | Judging by the cheering, Tory MPs sounded more happy with their leader’s performance than Labour’s did. This is not always a good guide to who has done best, but PMQs matters almost as much for what it can do to a leader’s reputation with the parliamentary party as it does for their reputation with the public at large, and this afternoon the Conservative do seem to be in a much happier place. |