Steady progress tonight for Labour, on track for majority government without SNP.Shows that Crosby has got it all wrong, Miliband's ratings are improving.Reality and truth are intruding on the nasty media witch hunt. Conspiracy theorists are saying that the Clarkson debacle has nicely taken the heat away from the NHS privatisation which has happened this week.Some are saying that Jeremy's punch has diverted a lot of bad publicity for Dave's team.
If all three border regions vote Tory can England claim them for a bit of extra room ?
I've often thought it was all a bit of a cheek that the SNP laid claim to one third of the Union's landmass when Scotland has less than 10% of the population
Steady progress tonight for Labour, on track for majority government without SNP.Shows that Crosby has got it all wrong, Miliband's ratings are improving.Reality and truth are intruding on the nasty media witch hunt. Conspiracy theorists are saying that the Clarkson debacle has nicely taken the heat away from the NHS privatisation which has happened this week.Some are saying that Jeremy's punch has diverted a lot of bad publicity for Dave's team.
Assuming the situation in Scotland is as polled I'm not sure even the most optimistic of these polls would deliver a Labour majority, would it?
Is "Savllesque" a typo? Does "top BBC boss" have a name? Does the Mail have an axe to grind?
I'm sure the Mail has an axe to grind but the remarks coming before a supposedly objective disciplinary hearing are hardly politic are they? I suspect the BBC boss is Danny Cohen who the Mail has previously claimed ''has seized on the incident as the reason he needs to oust the controversial figure.'' That a BBC boss (of all people and organisations) seeks to link the PM to Saville says a lot about them as well.
It slightly odd, maybe I am not reading it correctly they carefully don't say those comments were made by Danny Cohen in the text, but in the image they show Cohen.
BBC Executives giving the impression that they would just as terrified of their kids going for a sleep-over at Jeremy Clarkson's gaffe as they would if they were going for a sleep-over at Jimmy Saville's.....
And it is the people with this warped mind-set who feel they are the guardians of what is fit and proper to promote and castigate in Britain today.
Steady progress tonight for Labour, on track for majority government without SNP.Shows that Crosby has got it all wrong, Miliband's ratings are improving.Reality and truth are intruding on the nasty media witch hunt. Conspiracy theorists are saying that the Clarkson debacle has nicely taken the heat away from the NHS privatisation which has happened this week.Some are saying that Jeremy's punch has diverted a lot of bad publicity for Dave's team.
Blindingly obvious that IHT cut will be Con manifesto pledge - zero chance of IHT cut going through parliament pre GE as LDs will not agree to it.
Higher Council tax bands will not be the quid pro quo - because that will create immediate losers - most people are not expecting to die for quite some time. Whereas higher council tax bands means paying more tax now.
So it will be a straightforward GE bribe - a Con Majority Govt will mean a big IHT cut - per reports tonight in the form of exempting main residence.
And I think it will be a very effective bribe - not just amongst elderly home owners but just also amongst their children.
Anyone with parents over about 75 in a house worth over £650k - or more importantly £325k where parents have divorced or for whatever reason the double allowance is not available - is going to sit up and take very serious notice.
The point is that the amount of money involved can be so massive - we are talking life changing amounts of money.
It's very rare indeed that anyone ever thinks that what a politician does may affect them directly to the tune of say £100k+. But that will be the case with this IHT pledge for significant numbers of people.
I am not convinced that a cut in IHT is much of a vote winner, particularly as often the property has to be in equity release in order to fund social care. IHT is alongside council tax our only real wealth taxes.
Certainly some tax cutting would set the agenda for a "tax bombshell" style campaign, but this may be a deliberate red herring.
I do forsee extra money being found for various NHS projects. There are big rumours of building works going round, and also a nod and wink about Trust overspends.
Earlier this year the Guardian reported ''A future Tory government would use part of a planned £23bn budget surplus by the end of the decade to fund the £7bn in tax cuts announced by David Cameron at last year’s Tory conference, George Osborne has confirmed.''
So tax cuts are really already plugged in and dependent on deficit reduction. Whatever is said in the Budget will be a repetition of that, not something new. We may get extra tax allowances and I think any IHT changes, whilst welcome, are not likely to be as significant as the original bombshell that caused Brown to throw a wobbly. It is worth remembering that previously announced changes to the pension rules mean that anyone with a drawdown pension can leave it 100% tax-free to their heirs if they die before 75, and IHT-free – but subject to income tax on withdrawal – after that. its also been extended to holders of annuities. Tough on children with healthy parents I know... Also - married Isa savers who die will be able to pass on their Isa accumulations to their spouse. Perhaps ISAs will end up being treated like pensions?
Is "Savllesque" a typo? Does "top BBC boss" have a name? Does the Mail have an axe to grind?
I'm sure the Mail has an axe to grind but the remarks coming before a supposedly objective disciplinary hearing are hardly politic are they? I suspect the BBC boss is Danny Cohen who the Mail has previously claimed ''has seized on the incident as the reason he needs to oust the controversial figure.'' That a BBC boss (of all people and organisations) seeks to link the PM to Saville says a lot about them as well.
It slightly odd, maybe I am not reading it correctly they carefully don't say those comments were made by Danny Cohen in the text, but in the image they show Cohen.
BBC Executives giving the impression that they would just as terrified of their kids going for a sleep-over at Jeremy Clarkson's gaffe as they would if they were going for a sleep-over at Jimmy Saville's.....
And it is the people with this warped mind-set who feel they are the guardians of what is fit and proper to promote and castigate in Britain today.
That BBC 'executive' sounds a really nasty minded malevolent piece of detritus. Clarkson may well have just got constructive dismissal. How can he work for an organisation whose management so incautiously make such unpleasant assertions that somehow manage to get into the national newspapers?
There again the BBC is a pile of detritus anyway. Clarkson would be bettor of out.
Is "Savllesque" a typo? Does "top BBC boss" have a name? Does the Mail have an axe to grind?
I'm sure the Mail has an axe to grind but the remarks coming before a supposedly objective disciplinary hearing are hardly politic are they? I suspect the BBC boss is Danny Cohen who the Mail has previously claimed ''has seized on the incident as the reason he needs to oust the controversial figure.'' That a BBC boss (of all people and organisations) seeks to link the PM to Saville says a lot about them as well.
It slightly odd, maybe I am not reading it correctly they carefully don't say those comments were made by Danny Cohen in the text, but in the image they show Cohen.
BBC Executives giving the impression that they would just as terrified of their kids going for a sleep-over at Jeremy Clarkson's gaffe as they would if they were going for a sleep-over at Jimmy Saville's.....
And it is the people with this warped mind-set who feel they are the guardians of what is fit and proper to promote and castigate in Britain today.
This is the same organisation who has given Moazzam Begg a comfortable platform on loads of occasions, can't bring themselves to call ISIS and alike terrorists (they are merely militants), , have had presenter muse that Jadahi john went to Syria for noble reasons, no issue with extremists at universities and absolutely no threat from ISIS nutters in the UK.
And this doesn't look good for those hoping for an Inheritance Tax giveaway in the budget:
Meanwhile, Labour has claimed that millions have gone uncollected in inheritance tax because of cuts to staff and resources. Figures showed that the HMRC’s inheritance tax compliance teams, whose job it is to collect the tax, have had their budgets slashed by £404,000, or 6 per cent, since 2011, while staffing levels have been cut by 3 per cent.
While house price rises have led to a marginal increase in inheritance tax revenues, this is helping to mask the amounts going uncollected from high-end properties, according to the Labour MP Pamela Nash. There were 726 estates valued at £2m, collectively worth at least £1,452,000,000, that did not pay any inheritance tax at all in 2011-12, according to the HMRC figures.
With Labour already on the case further immediate concessions may be treated extremely negatively.....
Companies will be forced to share their profits with employees under plans being considered by Ed Miliband’s Labour party. Any firm with more than 50 staff members would be obliged to set up a profit-sharing scheme, with workers being handed a cash sum based on their employers’ financial position.
One of the reasons I think Kellner is right is that a weak, unpopular, incredible leader just might not get out the vote for Labour. Not to mention the multiple messages, and limited resources.
Meanwhile, Cameron and Osborne are pumping iron into their base with sweeties all round, running watertight message discipline and ramming it all home with a very well funded campaign.
I've covered myself on the 60-65% turnout band at Bet365 at 7/2.
Having whinged a lot in the past about the Tory funding edge, I should probably admit that it's more or less vanished. In my patch we are now in a position to fight the rest of the campaign at full throttle and then fight another one immediately afterwards if necessary - there have been a lot more donations in the medium band of £200-£500. Whether that's typical nationally I don't know, but the resources gap that was very evident in 2010 is I think greatly reduced.
I do agree that turnout will be a bit down, but doubt if that will differ much between the parties. Roughly half the voters on both sides seem dead keen, and the balance seem similarly motivated by "I suppose X is better than Y".
And this doesn't look good for those hoping for an Inheritance Tax giveaway in the budget:
Meanwhile, Labour has claimed that millions have gone uncollected in inheritance tax because of cuts to staff and resources. Figures showed that the HMRC’s inheritance tax compliance teams, whose job it is to collect the tax, have had their budgets slashed by £404,000, or 6 per cent, since 2011, while staffing levels have been cut by 3 per cent.
While house price rises have led to a marginal increase in inheritance tax revenues, this is helping to mask the amounts going uncollected from high-end properties, according to the Labour MP Pamela Nash. There were 726 estates valued at £2m, collectively worth at least £1,452,000,000, that did not pay any inheritance tax at all in 2011-12, according to the HMRC figures.
With Labour already on the case further immediate concessions may be treated extremely negatively.....
That is a nonsense article / stat. We have no idea why those 700 estates didn't pay IHT. There could be a lot of reasons behind that, none of which having 1000's more HMRC staff can do about, because it could have been perfectly legal.
IHT is one of the easiest taxes to plan for, especially if you are willing to plan way out from your death and you trust your kids...and that is before getting into the fact of things like properties can be part of businesses etc.
Steady progress tonight for Labour, on track for majority government without SNP.Shows that Crosby has got it all wrong, Miliband's ratings are improving.Reality and truth are intruding on the nasty media witch hunt. Conspiracy theorists are saying that the Clarkson debacle has nicely taken the heat away from the NHS privatisation which has happened this week.Some are saying that Jeremy's punch has diverted a lot of bad publicity for Dave's team.
And this doesn't look good for those hoping for an Inheritance Tax giveaway in the budget:
Meanwhile, Labour has claimed that millions have gone uncollected in inheritance tax because of cuts to staff and resources. Figures showed that the HMRC’s inheritance tax compliance teams, whose job it is to collect the tax, have had their budgets slashed by £404,000, or 6 per cent, since 2011, while staffing levels have been cut by 3 per cent.
While house price rises have led to a marginal increase in inheritance tax revenues, this is helping to mask the amounts going uncollected from high-end properties, according to the Labour MP Pamela Nash. There were 726 estates valued at £2m, collectively worth at least £1,452,000,000, that did not pay any inheritance tax at all in 2011-12, according to the HMRC figures.
With Labour already on the case further immediate concessions may be treated extremely negatively.....
That is a nonsense article / stat. We have no idea why those 700 estates didn't pay IHT. There could be a lot of reasons behind that, none of which having 1000's more HMRC staff can do about, because it could have been perfectly legal.
IHT is one of the easiest taxes to plan for, especially if you are willing to plan way out from your death and you trust your kids...and that is before getting into the fact of things like properties can be part of businesses etc.
Just scrap it and bang a higher rate on high value properties. It is complete makework for lawyers and tax accountants - that article demonstrates what a shockingly poor tax it is.
And this doesn't look good for those hoping for an Inheritance Tax giveaway in the budget:
Meanwhile, Labour has claimed that millions have gone uncollected in inheritance tax because of cuts to staff and resources. Figures showed that the HMRC’s inheritance tax compliance teams, whose job it is to collect the tax, have had their budgets slashed by £404,000, or 6 per cent, since 2011, while staffing levels have been cut by 3 per cent.
While house price rises have led to a marginal increase in inheritance tax revenues, this is helping to mask the amounts going uncollected from high-end properties, according to the Labour MP Pamela Nash. There were 726 estates valued at £2m, collectively worth at least £1,452,000,000, that did not pay any inheritance tax at all in 2011-12, according to the HMRC figures.
With Labour already on the case further immediate concessions may be treated extremely negatively.....
That is a nonsense article / stat. We have no idea why those 700 estates didn't pay IHT. There could be a lot of reasons behind that, none of which having 1000's more HMRC staff can do about, because it could have been perfectly legal.
IHT is one of the easiest taxes to plan for, especially if you are willing to plan way out from your death and you trust your kids.
You are probably right but it is no different to any 'tax avoidance'. Its easy to criticise and beat the drum of class envy and very difficult to defend because it's all technicality and complexity. Ultimately for those who do not have the luxury of looking forward to such wealth it just causes resentment which is what Labour prey on.
And this doesn't look good for those hoping for an Inheritance Tax giveaway in the budget:
Meanwhile, Labour has claimed that millions have gone uncollected in inheritance tax because of cuts to staff and resources. Figures showed that the HMRC’s inheritance tax compliance teams, whose job it is to collect the tax, have had their budgets slashed by £404,000, or 6 per cent, since 2011, while staffing levels have been cut by 3 per cent.
While house price rises have led to a marginal increase in inheritance tax revenues, this is helping to mask the amounts going uncollected from high-end properties, according to the Labour MP Pamela Nash. There were 726 estates valued at £2m, collectively worth at least £1,452,000,000, that did not pay any inheritance tax at all in 2011-12, according to the HMRC figures.
With Labour already on the case further immediate concessions may be treated extremely negatively.....
That is a nonsense article / stat. We have no idea why those 700 estates didn't pay IHT. There could be a lot of reasons behind that, none of which having 1000's more HMRC staff can do about, because it could have been perfectly legal.
IHT is one of the easiest taxes to plan for, especially if you are willing to plan way out from your death and you trust your kids...and that is before getting into the fact of things like properties can be part of businesses etc.
While I agree that Gordon was spooked by the IHT tax cut, I don't belive it has the electoral cut-through that he thought. The number of people who have ever raised it with me as an issue in my relatively wealthy constituency is zero, and if that's the Osborne giveaway, bring it on - it reinforces the case that this government is primarily about helping people with lots of money, and not even everyone with lots of money thinks that ought to be the Government's priority.
One of the reasons I think Kellner is right is that a weak, unpopular, incredible leader just might not get out the vote for Labour. Not to mention the multiple messages, and limited resources.
Meanwhile, Cameron and Osborne are pumping iron into their base with sweeties all round, running watertight message discipline and ramming it all home with a very well funded campaign.
I've covered myself on the 60-65% turnout band at Bet365 at 7/2.
Having whinged a lot in the past about the Tory funding edge, I should probably admit that it's more or less vanished. In my patch we are now in a position to fight the rest of the campaign at full throttle and then fight another one immediately afterwards if necessary - there have been a lot more donations in the medium band of £200-£500. Whether that's typical nationally I don't know, but the resources gap that was very evident in 2010 is I think greatly reduced.
I do agree that turnout will be a bit down, but doubt if that will differ much between the parties. Roughly half the voters on both sides seem dead keen, and the balance seem similarly motivated by "I suppose X is better than Y".
So have you accepted Tony Blair's £1000 donation? Fair enough if you have, but your silence seems to suggest that you have but are reluctant to say so. Why should that be?
How has Charles Kennedy being pissed on QT not got more attention?
He is really popular and people feel a bit sorry for what has become of him. Whether they will continue to vote for him in sufficient numbers remains to be seen.
Peter Kellner- YouGov has conducted 15 polls in the past three weeks. The Tories have led in seven, Labour in three.
The previous three weeks produced 11 Labour leads and just two for the Tories. Individual polling samples still vary and the overall shift is small. But it is real.
Given the historic pattern for Tory governments to do better than Labour oppositions in the final weeks before polling day, it is bad news for Miliband.
The 'historic pattern ' does not exist bar 1992 and 1997. It was not there in 1959 , 1964, February 1974,1983 or 1987!
How has Charles Kennedy being pissed on QT not got more attention?
He is really popular and people feel a bit sorry for what has become of him. Whether they will continue to vote for him in sufficient numbers remains to be seen.
I feel v sorry for him, I've just had to deal with a friend who lapsed... But I'm amazed more hasn't been made of it in the press
How has Charles Kennedy being pissed on QT not got more attention?
He is really popular and people feel a bit sorry for what has become of him. Whether they will continue to vote for him in sufficient numbers remains to be seen.
I feel v sorry for him, I've just had to deal with a friend who lapsed... But I'm amazed more hasn't been made of it in the press
Imagine farage slurring his way through QT
If he was a party leader it would be a whole nother matter!
Comments
Conspiracy theorists are saying that the Clarkson debacle has nicely taken the heat away from the NHS privatisation which has happened this week.Some are saying that Jeremy's punch has diverted a lot of bad publicity for Dave's team.
And it is the people with this warped mind-set who feel they are the guardians of what is fit and proper to promote and castigate in Britain today.
Sorry
Higher Council tax bands will not be the quid pro quo - because that will create immediate losers - most people are not expecting to die for quite some time. Whereas higher council tax bands means paying more tax now.
So it will be a straightforward GE bribe - a Con Majority Govt will mean a big IHT cut - per reports tonight in the form of exempting main residence.
And I think it will be a very effective bribe - not just amongst elderly home owners but just also amongst their children.
Anyone with parents over about 75 in a house worth over £650k - or more importantly £325k where parents have divorced or for whatever reason the double allowance is not available - is going to sit up and take very serious notice.
The point is that the amount of money involved can be so massive - we are talking life changing amounts of money.
It's very rare indeed that anyone ever thinks that what a politician does may affect them directly to the tune of say £100k+. But that will be the case with this IHT pledge for significant numbers of people.
So tax cuts are really already plugged in and dependent on deficit reduction. Whatever is said in the Budget will be a repetition of that, not something new. We may get extra tax allowances and I think any IHT changes, whilst welcome, are not likely to be as significant as the original bombshell that caused Brown to throw a wobbly.
It is worth remembering that previously announced changes to the pension rules mean that anyone with a drawdown pension can leave it 100% tax-free to their heirs if they die before 75, and IHT-free – but subject to income tax on withdrawal – after that. its also been extended to holders of annuities. Tough on children with healthy parents I know...
Also - married Isa savers who die will be able to pass on their Isa accumulations to their spouse. Perhaps ISAs will end up being treated like pensions?
There again the BBC is a pile of detritus anyway. Clarkson would be bettor of out.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/budget-2015-chancellor-to-back-hs3-rail-link-and-relax-pensions-rules-10108768.html
And this doesn't look good for those hoping for an Inheritance Tax giveaway in the budget:
Meanwhile, Labour has claimed that millions have gone uncollected in inheritance tax because of cuts to staff and resources. Figures showed that the HMRC’s inheritance tax compliance teams, whose job it is to collect the tax, have had their budgets slashed by £404,000, or 6 per cent, since 2011, while staffing levels have been cut by 3 per cent.
While house price rises have led to a marginal increase in inheritance tax revenues, this is helping to mask the amounts going uncollected from high-end properties, according to the Labour MP Pamela Nash. There were 726 estates valued at £2m, collectively worth at least £1,452,000,000, that did not pay any inheritance tax at all in 2011-12, according to the HMRC figures.
With Labour already on the case further immediate concessions may be treated extremely negatively.....
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/14/miliband-labour-share-profits-staff-policy
I do agree that turnout will be a bit down, but doubt if that will differ much between the parties. Roughly half the voters on both sides seem dead keen, and the balance seem similarly motivated by "I suppose X is better than Y".
IHT is one of the easiest taxes to plan for, especially if you are willing to plan way out from your death and you trust your kids...and that is before getting into the fact of things like properties can be part of businesses etc.
Danny Alexander asks Tories to save his skin
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CAF2NM6UcAAa5ZX.jpg
I thought he had already sold his skin to the Daily Telegraph sting operation!
Very sad.
Imagine farage slurring his way through QT
Nick Clegg: Liberal Democrats 'here to stay'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31892955
Vroom!