Newslinks for Tuesday the 1st of April 2025

Badenoch to lay out how much Labour’s plans will cost families

“Working families are set to lose out on more than £3,500 each due to ­businesses passing on the costs of ­Rachel Reeves’s national insurance increase, figures suggest. Kemi Badenoch branded the levy a “jobs tax” as her Conservative Party published an analysis showing the potential impact on 18.6 million ­households. The chancellor announced in her budget in October that national insurance contributions for employers would rise by 1.2 percentage points to 15 per cent from April 6. The change, which come into force at the start of the next financial year, is ­expected to raise between £23.8 billion and £25.7 billion for the exchequer, which Reeves argued was vital to fill a “black hole” in the public finances. However, the Tories said that the majority of the NI increase would be borne by workers and consumers.” – The Times

• Millions of Britons brace for across-the-board bill rises in ‘awful April’ – The Guardian
• Working families to be £3,536 poorer because of Reeves’s job tax as ‘Awful April’ begins – Daily Express
• Homebuyers £3,200 worse off after Reeves’s stamp duty raid – The Telegraph
• Hospitality bosses warn of ‘eye-watering’ £3.4billion hit to industry from Rachel Reeves’ autumn Budget measures – Daily Mail

Comment

• Rachel Reeves just doesn’t get it. None of us should pay tax on savings – Tom Clougherty The Telegraph
• All the taxes and bills going up today – and how to shield your wealth – The Telegraph

Jenrick forces Sentencing Council climbdown over “two tier justice”

“Judges have climbed down over the introduction of “two-tier justice” rules after the Government threatened legislation to block the guidance. Lord Justice Davis, the chairman of the Sentencing Council, announced that it would suspend the guidance hours before it was due to take effect on Tuesday. The council’s guidance advised courts that they should “normally consider” ordering a pre-sentence report on an offender if they were “an ethnic minority, cultural minority, and/or faith minority community”, transgender, young or female. The about-turn came after a showdown between Lord Justice Davis and Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, who warned him that she was going ahead with emergency legislation that would make the guidance “unlawful”. – The Telegraph

• Sentencing Council to delay ‘two-tier’ guidelines after backlash – The Times
• Climbdown over two-tier justice as sentencing rule change is put on ice amid ministers’ fight to block the policy – Daily Mail
• Sentencing Council suspends guidance on minorities after ‘two-tier justice’ row – The i
• Two-tier sentencing plan cancelled at last minute in humiliating climbdown for judges – Daily Express
• Police threatened couple with arrest if they contacted councillor – The Times

Comment

• What Britain’s fair-minded people want is equality for all before the law, not equality in outcomes. The British public have been equal before the law for centuries, but Labour seems hell-bent on tearing that principle to shreds – Robert Jenrick Daily Mail
• The two-tier justice row. What did MPs think addressing racial disparities meant, if not introducing measures based on race? – Yuan Yi Zhu The Critic
• The Sentencing Council U-turn is a victory for Jenrick – James Heale Spectator

>Yesterday

Labour criticised for failure to tackle small boat crossings as numbers soar

“The rate of migrant Channel crossings under Sir Keir Starmer has been higher than under any of his Conservative predecessors, with more small boat arrivals this year than at any time since they began seven years ago. More than 6,600 migrants were detected in the Channel in small boats in the first three months of 2025 – over 30 per cent more than the previous record of just under 5,000 by this time last year, Home Office data show. The early surge this year has been partly fuelled by better weather and calmer seas, as well as by people-smugglers cramming more migrants into each dinghy. With the weather expected to continue to improve during spring, the 30,000 threshold for migrants crossing the Channel under Sir Keir’s watch since July is expected to be passed within days.” – The Telegraph

• Keir Starmer told that stopping all small boats ‘unrealistic’ – The Times
• Rwanda 2.0 plan to deport asylum seekers on the table, Keir Starmer confirms – The i
• Channel migrants could be booted out of UK and sent abroad to ‘return hubs’ – Daily Express
• Taking us for fools. Dinghy migrants filmed boasting about life in hotels YOU pay for as bills rocket for millions of Brits – The Sun
• How immigrants abuse student visas to claim asylum in Britain – The Times
• The brutal criminal kingpins who rule Britain’s cross-Channel migrant routes with an iron fist: Iraqi Kurds seize control from Albanians and Iranians to make millions – Daily Mail
• Alleged people smuggler can’t be sent to Belgium ‘because of mosquitos in prison there’ – The Telegraph

Comment

• I don’t believe a word that delusional Keir Starmer says about ‘smashing the gangs’. The truth is he’s given up on securing Britain’s borders – and here’s why – Alp Mehmet Daily Mail

>Today

Labour’s taking flak on many fronts, so why is the Home Secretary dodging it when there’s plenty to attack?

UK unlikely to avoid Trump’s tariffs despite efforts to get exemption

“Sir Keir Starmer’s eleventh hour bid for Britain to be excluded from new US tariffs was flatly rejected by Donald Trump, The Sun can reveal. The PM invited the US President to visit the UK this June to sign a new limited trade deal that would swerve new export taxes, yet was snubbed. the weekend call between the pair failed to reach any resolution beyond President Trump promising to look into the details of the planned economic pact. Sir Keir’s attempts to flatter the American chief into sparing British firms from the economic hit fell on deaf ears despite an offer to sign the deal in just three months’ time. One well placed source said the PM had “pleaded” for more time for the UK and US to hammer out a deal. But No10 insiders rejected that suggestion and said an exemption was never directly asked for during the PM’s update for the President on the status of negotiations.” – The Sun

• Keir Starmer admits UK to be hit by Donald Trump’s tariffs in Rachel Reeves blow – Daily Express
• Starmer warns Trump ‘don’t start a trade war’ as UK braced for US tariffs – The i
• No 10 says it expects UK to be hit by new Trump tariffs as trade deal talks drag on – Guardian
• British pro-lifer’s protest in Bournemouth sparks row with Donald Trump – as US ‘vows no free trade without free speech’ – Daily Mail
• US stocks post worst quarter since 2022 as tariff worries swirl – FT
• No free trade with US without free speech, Starmer warned – The Telegraph

Comment

• If Donald Trump refuses to relent on his tariffs, we face a stock market cataclysm, global recession and a new inflationary spiral – Alex Brummer Daily Mail

Council chiefs’ pay revealed. Many earn ‘more than the PM’ and council tax rises

“Council fat cats received record-high levels of pay and pensions last year, while hard-pressed taxpayers paid record-high levels to their supposedly cash-strapped local authorities. In a shocking new set of data from campaign group The Taxpayers’ Alliance, at least 3,906 council employees received total remuneration of £100,000 or more in 2023-24. This is 26% higher than in 2022-23, while the number of council employees taking home over £150,000 has risen by 32% in the same period. 262 council fat cats walked home last year with more than £200,000 in combined salary, bonuses and pension contributions, 50% more than in 2022-23.” – Daily Express

• Number of council officials on £100k pay deals hits record high – The Times

Comment

• Your Council Tax will skyrocket this week so I guarantee you won’t be happy with how many council chiefs earn over £100k – John O’Connell The Sun

Le Pen refuses to quit after court sentences her for embezzlement of EU funds

“Marine Le Pen refused to quit politics on Monday night after she was banned from running for president. The 56-year-old president of the hard-Right National Rally party claimed that millions of French voters had been deprived of a voice by an “authoritarian regime” after she was found guilty of embezzlement by using European Parliament funds to pay party expenses. She has been banned from running for office for five years and was also handed a four-year prison term by the Paris court, but will not go to jail. Two years of those years will be suspended, and another two served outside jail with an electronic bracelet. The judge specified that the politics ban should come into force with immediate effect, even if an appeal was lodged.” – The Telegraph

News in Brief

• Welcome to Terrible Tuesday – Michael Simmons Spectator
• Our broken welfare system is ruining lives – Lana Hempsall CapX
• Can Carna cope with immigration? Rural Ireland worries for its future Aris Roussinos Unherd
• The labours of her – Victoria Smith The Critic