Keir Starmer plays down warnings that taxes will have to be raised in autumn
Keir Starmer has sought to play down warnings that the government will be forced to raise taxes this autumn and said some of the figures being circulated “are not ones I recognise”.The prime minister was responding to forecasts from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), which projected a shortfall of up to £51bn in the public finances, given a number of factors had knocked the chancellor’s plans to stay within Whitehall spending limits, including higher debt interest payments and U-turns on welfare spending cuts.NIESR said “moderate but sustained” tax rises would be needed in the autumn budget for Rachel Reeves to overcome the deficit of £41.2bn and then restore a near £10bn buffer in the current budget or be forced to use harsh cost-cutting measures in the autumn statement.Speaking during a visit to Milton Keynes, Starmer disagreed with the economists’ warnings.
“Some of the figures that are being put out are not figures that I recognise, but the budget won’t be until later in the year – that’s when we’ll have the forecast and set out our plans.”He added the government’s focus would remain on raising living standards and he sought to reassure voters they would “feel better off” under Labour.“That means more money coming into people’s pockets in the first place through better wages, and bearing down on costs like mortgages and other pressures on families,” Starmer said.“In the autumn, we’ll get the full forecast and obviously set out our budget,” he added.“The focus will be living standards, so that we will build on what we’ve done in the first year of this government.
We’ve stabilised the economy,That means interest rates have been cut now four times,“For anybody watching this on a mortgage that makes a huge difference on a monthly basis to how much they pay,“In the first year, we’ve raised wages as well, both in the private sector plus the minimum wage, which means people have got a bit more money coming into their pocket, and so at this stage that will be set out in the budget, but the focus will very much be on living standards and making sure people feel better off,”Prof Stephen Millard, NIESR’s deputy director for macroeconomics, said: “Things are not looking good for the chancellor, who will need to either raise taxes or reduce spending or both in the October budget if she is to meet her fiscal rules.
”Labour is under pressure to spell out how it will balance the books without breaking its pledges, including a commitment to not raise the rates of income tax, VAT or national insurance.The NIESR report has fuelled concerns over whether the government will introduce a wealth tax, or which taxes Reeves may consider raising.There is speculation about an extension to the freeze on income tax bands and a cut to the current cash Isa limit.The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, ruled out a wealth tax on Tuesday.She told Sky News: “The chancellor has very much poured cold water on that idea, partly because many countries have tried this sort of approach, but mostly because we were elected as a government in a time when taxes on working people were at their highest rate for generations.
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United Airlines says issue that forced grounding of hundreds of US flights resolved
United Airlines has said a technology issue that led to the grounding of flights for a few hours and major delays across its network in the US has been resolved.“While we expect residual delays, our team is working to restore our normal operations,” the airline said in a statement late on Wednesday.The issue prompted ground stops at several major United hub airports including Newark, Denver, Houston and Chicago, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) website.United said the problem related to its Unimatic system that housed information about each flight that was then fed to other systems, including those that calculated weight and balance and tracked flight times.The US transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, said on X that the issue was specific to United’s operations and was unrelated to the broader air traffic control system
Shares in European drug companies hit four-month low as Trump tariffs loom
Shares in European pharmaceutical companies have sunk to a four-month low, after Donald Trump repeated his threats to introduce tariffs on drug imports “within the next week or so”.Europe’s Stoxx Health Care index slid by 2.8% on Wednesday, falling to its lowest level since mid-April, shortly after the US president’s initial “liberation day” tariff announcements.Investors have been nervous in recent weeks as Trump has threatened to introduce sky-high levies on imported pharmaceutical products in an attempt to get companies to relocate production to the US, a pledge he reiterated on Tuesday.“We’ll be putting a initially small tariff on pharmaceuticals, but in one year – one and a half years, maximum – it’s going to go to 150% and then it’s going to go to 250% because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country,” Trump told CNBC
Trump announces Apple’s plan to invest $100bn in US manufacturing
Donald Trump on Wednesday celebrated a commitment by Apple to increase its investments in US manufacturing by an additional $100bn over the next four years.Apple’s plan to up its domestic investment comes as it seeks to avoid Trump’s threatened tariffs, which would increase the tech giant’s costs as it relies on a complex international supply chain to produce its iPhones. Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, warned during an earnings call in May that the tariffs could cost the company up to $900m that fiscal quarter alone.After Cook gifted Trump a US-made souvenir with a 24-karat gold base at the Oval Office on Wednesday, the president praised the corporation, telling reporters: “Companies like Apple, they’re coming home … This is a significant step toward the ultimate goal of ensuring that iPhones sold in America also are made in America.”Cook said many components of the iPhones are already made domestically, including glass, semiconductors and face ID, but that final assembly of the devices would remain overseas “for a while”
UK car drivers: share your memories and photos of your convertible
According to a new study, convertibles have dwindled to a 25-year low with only 16 new models for sale across the UK’s most popular car manufacturers. SUVs are taking the rap for the decline of convertibles in Britain as people move towards favouring bulkier vehicles.Data from CarGurus UK found that in 2024 there were only 12,173 new convertibles registered in the UK compared to 94,484 in 2004. One of cinema’s most iconic cars is probably the 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible that Thelma and Louise drove on their their adventures.We would like to hear from people who have, or previously had, a convertible
‘Love is the key, right?’ Evergreen Venus Williams plays on and on at 45
“Still haven’t seen the Rolling Stones,” says Venus Williams, smiling, as she reminisced about her unforgettable professional tennis debut at the age of 14 in Oakland, California, an occasion that justified years of hype surrounding her stratospheric potential. Her first ever professional tennis match took place next door to a Rolling Stones concert. Now, 31 years later, at 45 years old, Williams is still here.Three weeks after returning to professional tennis for the first time in 16 months with a straight sets singles victory over the then world No 35 Peyton Stearns at the Citi Open in Washington, which marked her as the second-oldest woman in history to win a WTA Tour-level singles match and also silenced criticisms about her enduring presence on the tour, Williams now takes her comeback to the Cincinnati Open.Once one of the most precocious youngsters of her time, a US Open finalist by the age of 17, Williams continues to compete
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa says sitting on Trump’s sports council will be ‘an honor’
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has spoken of his pride at being named to Donald Trump’s council on sports, fitness, and nutrition.Tagovailoa joins two other current NFL stars on the council, Nick Bosa and Harrison Butker, who have been backers of Trump’s Maga movement. While Tagovailoa has not publicly expressed his support for the president, who once described NFL players who knelt for the national anthem as “sons of bitches”, he said he was happy to align himself with Trump.“I think it’s pretty cool – it’s an honor, [to serve on the council]” Tagovailoa said on Wednesday. “I don’t know too much about it, but it’s an honor
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