24-10-2025

Month: September 2022

Scotland’s first minister has hinted that she is unlikely to match income tax cuts for the highest earners elsewhere in the UK.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled a cut from 20p to 19p in the basic rate of tax and scrapped the 45p rate for the highest earners in his mini-budget.

The cuts do not apply to Scotland, where income tax rates and bands are decided by the Scottish government.

Ms Sturgeon described the mini-budget as “reckless”.

And she said the Chancellor’s income tax plans would benefit the wealthiest over poor and middle income earners.

The first minister tweeted: “Yet Tories (and right wing commentators) will demand that Scottish Government blindly follows suit.”

 

The Chancellor’s announcement of the biggest tax cuts in the UK for 50 years would potentially mean that people earning more than £150,000 in Scotland will pay income tax at 46% rather than the 40% rate elsewhere in the UK.

The cut in basic rate tax from 20p in the pound to 19p will also not apply in Scotland, where rates have different thresholds.

Mr Kwarteng said his aim was to kickstart a “new era” for the UK economy that would be focused on growth.

The pound sank to a fresh 37-year low as the chancellor gave his statement.

‘We will examine tax change implications’ – Swinney

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the Scottish government would set out its decisions on tax when it outlines its own budget plans later in the year, but would not be drawn on what these decisions are likely to be.

He told BBC Scotland: “The Chancellor has obviously made tax changes today. We will consider those changes and make the right judgements for people in Scotland.

“We want to make sure that we do the right thing by people, by our public services and by our economy and will set out our stance in light of the decisions made by the Chancellor when it comes to establishing our budgets for the forthcoming year.”

Mr Swinney, who is acting as finance secretary while Kate Forbes is on maternity leave, will also need to decide how to respond to the Chancellor announcing that people buying properties worth up to £250,000 will no longer need to pay stamp duty.

House buyers in Scotland currently have to pay the Scottish equivalent of stamp duty – Land and Buildings Transactions Tax – on properties worth over £140,000.

Mr Kwarteng said the tax cuts marked a new era for the UK economy

However, Scottish businesses will benefit from the scrapping of a planned rise in corporation tax from 19% to 25%.

And a 1.25% rise in National Insurance will also be reversed across the UK from 6 November – which the UK government said would save 2.3 million Scottish workers an average of £285 a year.

The UK government will also look to work with the Scottish government and local authorities to set up Investment Zones in Scotland, which will offer tax cuts for businesses and more relaxed planning rules to release more land for housing and commercial development.

 

Meanwhile, Scotch whisky distillers and brewers will benefit from an end to planned reforms of alcohol duty, and retailers will hope to be boosted by a new system of VAT-free shopping for foreign tourists.

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said the Chancellor’s plans – which also include lifting a limit on bonuses for bankers – would mean an additional £630m for the Scottish government’s budget over the next three years.

Mr Jack added: “The Chancellor has set out an ambitious package of measures which will cut taxes and drive growth right across the UK.

“A strong economy is the best way to tackle the cost of living challenges we are all facing due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Our ‘Plan for Growth’ will support households and businesses in Scotland, while driving economic growth to deliver jobs, investment and prosperity.”

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar described the Chancellor’s statement as “economically illiterate and morally bankrupt”

Mr Sarwar said: “They have lifted the cap on bankers bonuses, given a tax cut to those at the very top, and delivered a windfall instead of a windfall tax for the energy giants making record profits – all while letting energy prices almost double and working people struggle to make ends meet.”

John Swinney described the Chancellor’s tax cuts and borrowing as reckless and that it represented 12 years of Tory failure.

Everyone’s anxious to know if the tax cuts will be replicated here, in our devolved settlement.

But Mr Swinney was inscrutable – merely saying the Government will look carefully at their tax position in light of the changes and that it would be set out in an orderly fashion.

The SNP are frequently taunted in the House of Commons that Scotland’s the highest taxed part of the UK – but Mr Swinney said most people in Scotland pay less in taxation than they would if they did in England.

One note that chimes with the Chancellor, the government in Edinburgh will engage with the UK Government on investment zones.

Overall, the two governments are going in different directions with the Deputy First Minister leading to the point that independence is the natural conclusion.

Questioned about prosperity and stability under independence, John Swinney said the UK is not a good example of fiscal stability.

So, from leafy Perthshire to Gothic Westminster, it’s clear there’s a huge divergence of approach now.

UK minister visits Leicester as tensions persist

Police have arrested 47 people over the past three weeks as young men from the two communities take to the streets almost every day, bringing fear and anxiety to the populace.

London’s mayor Sadiq Khan described the events in Leicester as “ugly” and called for solidarity.

“British Hindus and British Muslims have far more in common than that which divides us and we should be eternally on our guard against extremist forces who seek to stoke up tensions between our communities for their own selfish ends,” he said.

Police said they would arrest and charge more people over the coming weeks.

In a statement, a spokesperson said: “I can confirm the Home Secretary visited Leicester today and was briefed by Chief Constable Rob Nixon and other senior officers.” praised police for their handling of the protesters.

Police have taken flak from some circles for “appearing to support the protesters” after videos were circulated online which showed officers walking alongside them.

“I am making clear that police did not support an unplanned protest in East Leicester,” Rob Nixon, the chief constable, said.

“My officers were dispatched in order to try to engage and seek cooperation. They were confronted by over 300 people while there were eight officers at the time.

“They did the best they could in the circumstances by staying with them until more officers could arrive. That is what videos on social media show.”

Mr Nixon spoke about video footage that appeared to show a flag being pulled down outside a temple last week and set on fire.

Police were looking into the matter, he added, and “appeal to anyone with information to contact us”.

Three charged

Three people have been charged for the violence over the weekend after they appeared in court. Amos Noronha, 20, pleaded guilty to possession of an “offensive weapon” and was jailed for 10 months.

Adam Yusuf, 21, admitted he had a “bladed article” and was sentenced to a year in prison. He was further ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work.

Lukman Patel, 31, pleaded not guilty to possession of an offensive weapon and causing “racially aggravated distress”. He is expected to stand trial on Nov 11.

An official informed the magistrate that Adam Yusuf had been “influenced by social media” about the violence near his neighbourhood and was “upset”.

The chief constable, too, said social media was spreading “fake news”.

“I suspect that social media has played a significant part in raising fear, raising concern,” he told the BBC.

Police suspect some of those involved in the Leicester disorder had come from Birmingham and Luton.

Anti-police protests escalate in Iran; death toll rises to 17

Amini, 22, died last week after her arrest by the Islamic republic’s feared morality police for allegedly wearing a hijab headscarf in an “improper” way, and news of her death sparked widespread outrage.

“Death to the dictator” and “Woman, life, freedom”, protesters have been heard shouting in video footage shared widely online during the biggest wave of protests to rock the country in almost three years.

The US Treasury placed the morality police on its sanctions blacklist on Thursday, holding it responsible for Amini’s death and citing the “abuse and violence against Iranian women and the violation of the rights of peaceful Iranian protestors”.

Some Iranian women have burnt their scarves and symbolically cut their hair in protest at the strict dress code, in defiant actions echoed in solidarity protests from New York to Istanbul.

The Oslo-based non-government group Iran Human Rights said at least 31 civilians had been killed in Iran’s crackdown during six nights of violence against protesters in over 30 towns and cities.

Iranians have rallied “to achieve their fundamental rights and human dignity… and the government is responding to their peaceful protest with bullets,” charged the group’s director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.

Security forces have fired at crowds with birdshot and metal pellets, and also deployed tear gas and water cannon, said Amnesty International and other human rights groups.

Demonstrators have hurled stones at them, set fire to police cars and chanted anti-government slogans, the official IRNA news agency said.

On Thursday, Iranian media said three militiamen “mobilised to deal with rioters” had been stabbed or shot dead, in northwestern Tabriz, central Qazvin and northeastern Mashhad.

Unprecedented images have shown protesters defacing or burning images of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and late Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani.There were fears violence could escalate further after Iran restricted internet access and blocked messaging apps including WhatsApp and Instagram, as they have done during past crackdowns.

The two apps were the most widely used in Iran after the blocking of other platforms in recent years, including Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, YouTube and TikTok.

“People in Iran are being cut off from online apps and services,” Instagram chief Adam Mosseri tweeted, adding that “we hope their right to be online will be reinstated quickly”.

Activists have said that Amini, whose Kurdish first name is Jhina, suffered a fatal blow to the head after her arrest in Tehran — a claim denied by officials, who have announced an investigation.

Iranian women on the streets of Tehran said they were now more careful about their dress to avoid run-ins with the morality police.

Russian draft triggers exodus as air fares jump

Putin on Wednesday ordered Russia’s first mobilisation since World War Two and backed a plan to annex swathes of Ukraine, warning the West he was not bluffing when he said he’d be ready to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia.

Prices for air tickets out of Moscow soared above $5,000 for one-way tickets to the nearest foreign locations, with most air tickets sold out completely for coming days.

Social media groups popped up with advice on how to get out of Russia while one news site in Russian gave a list of “where to run away right now from Russia.” There were long tailbacks at border crossings with Georgia.

“War is horrible,” Sergei, a Russian who declined to give his surname, said as he arrived in Belgrade, the Serbian capital. “It’s okay to be afraid of war and of death and such things.” One Russian man who gave his name as Alex said in Istanbul that he had left Russia partly due to the mobilisation.

“The partial mobilisation is one of the reasons why I am here,” he said. “A very poor step it seems to be, and it can lead to lots of problems to lots of Russians.” He said he felt that not many Russians would want to be sent to fight.

Another Russian, who gave his name only as Vasily, arrived in Istanbul with his wife, teenage daughter and six suitcases.

“The mobilisation was inevitable because there was a shortage of human resources. I am not worried because I’m already 59 years old and my son lives abroad,” he said.

A truck driver who crossed the Russian-Kazakh border on Thursday near the Kazakh city of Oral said he saw unusually heavy traffic from the Russian side. He asked not to be identified, fearing that might complicate his future travel.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that reports of an exodus of draft-age men were exaggerated. Asked about reports that men detained at anti-war protests were being given draft papers, Peskov said it was not against the law.Some 10,000 volunteers have turned up to enlist for Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine without waiting for call-up papers.

FO rejects Pakistani delegation’s visit to Israel

ISLAMABAD: Following a Pakistani delegation’s visit to Israel, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday categorically rejected the visit.

The FO spokesperson, responding to media queries, said that the reported visit in question was organised by a foreign non-governmental organisation (NGO) which is not based in Pakistan.

A day earlier, a delegation of Pakistanis met Israeli Foreign Ministry officials in Jerusalem. It also included a former government minister.

According to the Foreign Office, Pakistan’s position on the Palestinian issue is clear and unambiguous. “There is no change whatsoever in our policy on which there is a complete national consensus,” the statement said.

The statement further said that Pakistan steadfastly supports the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination.

“The establishment of an independent, viable and contiguous Palestinian State with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, in accordance with the relevant United Nations and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) resolutions, is imperative for just and lasting peace in the region,” read the statement.

A day earlier, the trip organiser said the delegation also included representatives from the American Muslims and Multi-faith Women’s Empowerment Council and Sharaka, a US-based non-government group.

“Yes, I am in Jerusalem with a delegation to promote interfaith harmony,” Nasim Ashraf, the head of the delegation, said. He refused to give any further details about other members of the delegation. Nasim Ashraf used to be Pakistan’s development minister and the chairman of the Pakistani Cricket Board (PCB).

The trip comes more than three months after journalist Ahmed Quraishi, who also travelled to Jerusalem to promote interfaith harmony, was taken off the air by Pakistan Television after his visit.

UN chief commits to doing ‘everything possible’ to mobilise support for flood-ravaged Pakistan

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has vowed to do everything possible to mobilise international support and assistance for the flood-affected people in Pakistan.

The UN secretary-general’s commitment came during his meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The UN chief said Pakistan deserves full and massive support from the international community to deal with the aftermath of the cataclysmic floods.

In response, the prime minister appreciated the secretary-general’s timely visit and affirmation of solidarity with Pakistan in the wake of the climate-induced catastrophic floods.

The UNSG visited Pakistan earlier this month to express solidarity with the flood-hit nation.

The prime minister is in New York, where he is scheduled to address the UNGA session to tell Pakistan’s story of “anguish and pain” to the world. PM Shehbaz has also met world leaders apart from the UNSG, where he appealed for help in light of the deadly floods.

Following his meeting with the UN chief, the prime minister attended a photo exhibition with the UN global communication head at the UN headquarters.

“These photos tell a tale of misery, pain, and anguish that 33 million people of Pakistan are experiencing for no fault of theirs,” the premier said describing the exhibition.

“Our story needs sympathetic hearing.”

Hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the floods are living in the open and scores of people have died of diseases and floods since the beginning of the monsoon season.

Stagnant floodwaters, spread over hundreds of kilometres, may take two to six months to recede. Already they have led to widespread cases of skin and eye infections, diarrhoea, malaria, typhoid and dengue fever.

Authorities and aid workers have said more immediate help is needed for displaced families exposed to swarms of mosquitoes and other hazards, such as snake and dog bites.

Despite the efforts of the government and local and foreign relief organisations, many people are in dire need of food, shelter, medical assistance and medicines.

With Pakistan’s already weak health system and lack of support, displaced families have complained of being forced to drink and cook with unsafe water.

A historic and intense monsoon dumped about three times as much rain as Pakistan’s three-decade average. Combined with glacial melt, this caused unprecedented flooding.

The deluge, which scientists say was exacerbated by climate change, has affected nearly 33 million people in the South Asian nation of 220 million. It has swept away homes, crops, bridges, roads and livestock in damages estimated at $30 billion.

A 1.25% rise in National Insurance will be reversed from 6 November and the government will axe a planned levy to fund health and social care.

The rise was introduced in April under ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak, but during the Tory leadership race Liz Truss pledged to change it.

The funding for health and social care will now come from general taxation.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng made the announcement ahead of a “mini-budget” on Friday.

The Treasury said the change would save nearly 28 million people an average of £330 per year.

Most employees will get the tax cut in their November pay packets, with some getting it in December or January “depending on the complexity of their employer’s payroll software”, the Treasury said.

About 920,000 firms will get a tax reduction of nearly £10,000, it added.

National Insurance is a tax paid by employees, employers and the self-employed.

Employees pay National Insurance on their wages as well as income tax, employers pay extra NI contributions for staff, and the self-employed pay National Insurance on their profits.

 

“Taxing our way to prosperity has never worked,” Mr Kwarteng said.

“To raise living standards for all, we need to be unapologetic about growing our economy. Cutting tax is crucial to this.”

The National Insurance rise was put in place to help the NHS recover from the coronavirus pandemic, and the planned social care levy was also designed to support the NHS from April.

The levy was expected to raise around £13bn a year to fund social care and deal with an NHS backlog that built up during Covid.

You only needed to tune in to the Conservative leadership contest for a minute to know that the rise in National Insurance would be reversed if Liz Truss became prime minister.

Now we know the result of that promise will be seen in pay packets from November.

But there are so many other factors in play at the moment. This has been a topsy-turvy time for our finances.

Changes to policy, prices, bills and the economy as a whole have made it tough to budget, even for the near future.

Experts would encourage everyone to prepare the best they can. Prioritising essential bills, building a savings buffer, perhaps putting even a small amount aside for Christmas are all sensible ambitions, they say, even if the rising cost of living – and events you cannot control – make those habits so much more difficult to maintain.

2px presentational grey line

There are weekly thresholds for National Insurance. There is nothing to pay on the first £242 earned per week, then its 13.25% on earnings between £242.01 and £967 and 3.25% on the rest.

That means, in general,people who earn more than £12,570 a year pay National Insurance, and the more they earn, the more they will benefit from this change.

For example, somebody earning £20,000 will save about £93 a year, and somebody earning £100,000 will save £1,093, compared to now.

From April 2023 Mr Kwarteng will also scrap an increase to dividend tax. This change was brought in alongside the payroll tax increase to raise taxes on people paid in a different way.

Kitty Ussher, chief economist at the Institute of Directors industry body, said raising employers’ National Insurance had been “a mistake”.

“This was quite simply a tax on jobs, which businesses had to pay regardless of whether they are profitable,” she said.

“Many of our members told us that the impact of the increase was that they would have no choice but to push up prices, making inflation even worse.

“Others said the rise in the cost of employing people meant they would think twice about taking new staff on, or potentially make the difficult decision to let colleagues go.”

The government announcement came ahead of a “mini-Budget” which is expected to be announced on Friday.

Meghan Markle will ‘capitalise’ on Queen death with ‘egregious’ Spotify diss

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are told to look for alternate career amid King Charles’ plans of slimmed monarchy.

Speaking with British journalist Piers Morgan, expert Esther Krakue shared her opinion on the career trajectory of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Hoping for an olive branch with the royal family, Ms Krakue said: “I do hope they do reconcile because I think it’ll be a positive thing for everyone.

“I would advise Meghan and Harry to find some sort of expertise like, I don’t know, get a degree in neurobiology or something.”

Meanwhile, she adviced the Sussexes to avoid releasing offensive content over the family on Spotify.

Krakue said of the feuding family: “I think it’s too early to tell. Obviously, everyone is waiting with bated breath over Harry’s book, which I really hope is not as bombastic as we fear it will be.

“And obviously, you know, Meghan’s podcast. Let’s hope she doesn’t say anything more egregious about the Royal Family.”

“I think she [Meghan] is going to keep capitalising on what she’s been capitalising so far. She’s got a title, she’s got a captive audience in the United States.”

India must reverse all illegal measures, says OIC group

OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha chaired the meeting. On August 5, 2019, India forcibly annexed illegally occupied territories of Jammu and Kashmir, rescinding a special status granted by the Indian constitution.

The group met in New York on Wednesday on the sidelines of the session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and issued a joint communique, condemning the Indian occupation.

The statement included a set of demands, urging India to: “Stop the gross, systematic, and widespread human rights abuses in the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir, halt and reverse the illegal demographic changes in the occupied territory including the construction of settler colonies, land confiscation, home demolitions and disruption of the livelihoods of the people of the IIOJK.

“Allow unrestricted access to UN Special procedures, international media and independent observers to visit occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and take concrete and meaningful steps for full implementation of UNSC resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.”

The group reiterated the call on the international community to hold India accountable for the heinous crimes being committed by the Indian forces in the IIOJK.

It also urged the OIC secretary general to continue to monitor the implementation of the action plan on Jammu and Kashmir agreed during the last meeting of the OIC Contact Group on March 22, 2022, in Islamabad and present a report on the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir to the next meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir.

The group asked the secretary general to transmit a copy of this joint communique to the UN secretary general and President of the UN Security Council.

It requested the OIC Observer Mission in New York and Geneva to send a copy of this communiqué to all member states, as well as the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights.

The meeting heard a report on the situation in the occupied Kashmir from the OIC secretary general while Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, other member states of the Contact Group and representatives of the Kashmiri people briefed the participants on recent developments.

The meeting reaffirmed the inalienable right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the recognised OIC position and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

It also reaffirmed the principle of right to self-determination enshrined in the UNSC resolutions that the final disposition of the State of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of the people, expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite, conducted under UN auspices.

The group acknowledged that by its Resolutions 91 (1951), 122 (1957) and 123 (1957), the Security Council reaffirmed that attempt by the parties concerned to determine the future shape and affiliation of the entire State of Jammu and Kashmir, or any part thereof, would not constitute a disposition of the State in accordance with the principle of a free and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices.

The group recalled the statement issued by the UN secretary general on Aug 8, 2019, affirming that the position of the United Nations on Jammu and Kashmir region is governed by the UN Charter and applicable UN Security Council Resolutions.

Welcoming the three meetings of the UN Security Council to consider the situation in Jammu and Kashmir dated Aug 16, 2019; January 15, 2020, and August 05, 2020, the group unequivocally rejected the unilateral Indian actions of August 05, 2019, as inconsistent with international law and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

US President Joe Biden urges world to help Pakistan after cataclysmic floods

United States President Joe Biden on Thursday highlighted the devastation caused by the floods in Pakistan and asked the international community to help flood-hit Pakistan.

The recent unprecedented monsoon rains triggered floods across the country that have caused massive devastation. More than 1,500 people lost their lives, while thousands of houses and cattle were swept away.

Millions of people have become homeless and are living in the open sky. The country has yet to brace for another worst situation after a disease outbreak in flood-ravaged areas.

During the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), US President Joe Biden has drawn the world’s attention to flood-hit Pakistan.

“Pakistan is still under water and needs help,” the US president said during his address at the UNGA session.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was also present in the iconic hall of the General Assembly during Joe Biden’s speech.

PM Shehbaz will address the UNGA session on September 23. He will focus on the challenges faced by Pakistan in the wake of the recent climate-induced catastrophic floods in the country.

In his address, US President Joe Biden announced another $2.9 billion for a fund aimed at helping to resolve global food insecurity.

The money “builds on the $6.9 billion in US government assistance to support global food security already committed this year,” said a statement from the White House.

PM Shehbaz appreciates Biden administration

Earlier, PM Shehbaz appreciated the US role in addressing the issue of climate change and thanked the country for extending help to Pakistan in the face of the devastating floods, the prime minister’s office said on Wednesday.

The PM held a meeting with the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, on the sidelines of the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

Noting that “the devastating floods have made Pakistan ground zero for climate change”, the PM appreciated Kerry’s personal leadership in raising awareness and seeking solutions to the climate change crisis.

Copyright © UNews-UK All Rights Reserved. Designed By Webtechnomind IT Solutions