Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Not in Poland it isn't.
Something for those who don’t think we should re-arm
The Germans are already noticing that the Poles are not referring to them on European defence anymore. The Poles rejected a request to by German for some items and went with South Korea.
This bleeds though into strategy and what action will be taken.
As the Poles see it, when they have the largest land army in Europe, they will be in charge of what they do with it.
Poland = 800 main battle tanks Germany = 300
Damn, that would take a fair few drones to get rid of that lot.
I don't know why the USA is celebrating its 250th birthday today. The 13 colonies declared independence as sovereign states and it was not until Confederation in 1781 they became one country. So only the 13 original colonies plus maybe some other states that were part of them (such as Maine, Tennessee, W Virginia) should be celebrating
The War ended in 1783 in any case (Treaty of Paris).
A new national poll reveals a striking paradox in public sentiment ahead of America's 250th anniversary: a disconnect between Americans' strong patriotic pride and their lack of civic knowledge.
According to a survey from the libertarian Cato Institute think tank of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in late June, 86% of respondents said they are grateful to be American and 70% believe the nation's founding principles remain relevant.
However, nearly half of Americans (46%) don't know that America's 250th anniversary commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
That’s what happens when history and civics curricula are reduced to slavery and racism and AmericaBad, as opposed to continuing to advocate for those founding principles.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Not in Poland it isn't.
Something for those who don’t think we should re-arm
The Germans are already noticing that the Poles are not referring to them on European defence anymore. The Poles rejected a request to by German for some items and went with South Korea.
This bleeds though into strategy and what action will be taken.
As the Poles see it, when they have the largest land army in Europe, they will be in charge of what they do with it.
If there’s one thing shown clearly by this war, it’s the need to diversify military equipment, and that even long-standing allies might not agree to let you send equipment where you want to send it.
The Americans and Germans have been particularly bad in this respect, but the Ukranians also see the Brits and French as not all good.
They’ve built their own weapons to send to Moscow, because many of their ‘allies’ got cold feet at the prospect of bombing a nuclear power, even when considered necessary to stop their aggression.
I’m shocked that Russia can crash a building onto sleeping families in a European capital, murdering 30 people, without any meaningful reaction from the world whatsoever. https://x.com/BohuslavskaKate/status/2073079552683675951
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Not in Poland it isn't.
Something for those who don’t think we should re-arm
The Germans are already noticing that the Poles are not referring to them on European defence anymore. The Poles rejected a request to by German for some items and went with South Korea.
This bleeds though into strategy and what action will be taken.
As the Poles see it, when they have the largest land army in Europe, they will be in charge of what they do with it.
Poland = 800 main battle tanks Germany = 300
The current estimates are that we have 20-25 that are actually capable of moving under their own power at any one time although we have a "paper" strength of just over 200. Once again, as with the navy, the difference between what we are supposed to be getting for our £60bn a year and what we actually get is roughly 90%.
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Ahem. As I pointed out in my Intermarium article, Poland did some serious spending on defence and instead of wasting it on studies they actually bought things and deployed them. I know, crazy right? A defence investment plan that actually works? Who could have imagined such a thing? (side-eyes MOD)
A new national poll reveals a striking paradox in public sentiment ahead of America's 250th anniversary: a disconnect between Americans' strong patriotic pride and their lack of civic knowledge.
According to a survey from the libertarian Cato Institute think tank of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in late June, 86% of respondents said they are grateful to be American and 70% believe the nation's founding principles remain relevant.
However, nearly half of Americans (46%) don't know that America's 250th anniversary commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
That’s what happens when history and civics curricula are reduced to slavery and racism and AmericaBad, as opposed to continuing to advocate for those founding principles.
Can you turn anything into a MAGA conspiracy theory? The article does not say that. It does talk about a lot about the education system and the decentralised nature of it that means kids in different parts of the country learn different things.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Not in Poland it isn't.
Something for those who don’t think we should re-arm
The Germans are already noticing that the Poles are not referring to them on European defence anymore. The Poles rejected a request to by German for some items and went with South Korea.
This bleeds though into strategy and what action will be taken.
As the Poles see it, when they have the largest land army in Europe, they will be in charge of what they do with it.
Poland = 800 main battle tanks Germany = 300
The current estimates are that we have 20-25 that are actually capable of moving under their own power at any one time although we have a "paper" strength of just over 200. Once again, as with the navy, the difference between what we are supposed to be getting for our £60bn a year and what we actually get is roughly 90%.
That's what happens when you try to maintain multiple capabilities on inadequate money.
We need to prioritise, and MBTs simply aren't a priority for an island nation.
Fair enough. I think Starmer’s 2024 victory does sit alongside Attlee’s and Blair’s… but Attlee and Blair then did something with their victories.
It really doesn't. For their faults, Attlee and Blair set out a positive vision and attracted over 49% and 43% of the popular vote.
Starmer never set out a vision, he promised change without fully laying out what that meant. And he u-turned on a number of things that did feature in his manifesto meaning that he lost trust very quickly. The majority he got was due to the fracturing of British politics and he secured under 34% of the vote. There was never a love for Starmer. No enthusiasm. No passion.
Don Jr. owns 311,433 shares of GrabAGun Digital Holdings ($PEW). Got 300,000 just for being a "consultant" in December 2024, one month after the election. GREAT timing, some would say PERFECT timing! Board seat too. BEAUTIFUL board seat, the best!
Who took it public? Colombier II, a SPAC run by Omeed Malik, Don Jr.'s partner at 1789 Capital AND his co-owner at Executive Branch, the D.C. club with the $500,000 entrance fee. Very exclusive! You can't get in, believe me!
And who showed up at that club's launch party? Paul Atkins, the brand new SEC Chair, 5 days on the job! Two months later the SEC approves the $PEW listing. Total coincidence, many people are saying!
But wait, there's MORE! GrabAGun's financing runs through Credova, owned by PublicSquare, where Don Jr. is ALSO a board member and investor. He gets paid coming AND going. Smart!
Malik even bragged Don Jr.'s "cult of personality" would make the stock trade above the fundamentals. They put it in the SEC filing! IN WRITING!
Now Daddy's ATF proposes the BIGGEST gun rule change in 20 YEARS, firearms shipped to your door like a pizza. 3.3 MILLION buyers a year, says the ATF. One of 34 — THIRTY FOUR — deregulations from Trump's own executive order. The Post Office wants to mail handguns too. Beautiful synergy!
Trump: Our American ancestors did not shed their blood just so that a band of thieves, radicals, and lunatics could come in and loot pillage our nation https://x.com/Acyn/status/2073247842718949436
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Is a poor financial planning/bad luck tax, with a perverse subsidy for property.
Fair enough. I think Starmer’s 2024 victory does sit alongside Attlee’s and Blair’s… but Attlee and Blair then did something with their victories.
It really doesn't. For their faults, Attlee and Blair set out a positive vision and attracted over 49% and 43% of the popular vote.
Starmer never set out a vision, he promised change without fully laying out what that meant. And he u-turned on a number of things that did feature in his manifesto meaning that he lost trust very quickly. The majority he got was due to the fracturing of British politics and he secured under 34% of the vote. There was never a love for Starmer. No enthusiasm. No passion.
In no way are these things comparable.
Indeed, Starmer in 2024 got the same voteshare to win as Kinnock did in 1992 when he lost. When he stood for Labour leader that is what Starmer thought he would be, another Kinnock who could make the party electable again before someone else took them finally back to power. Yet because the Tories blew themselves up with partygate and the Truss budget and Sunak enabling Farage's return so Reform split the rightwing vote, Labour ended up winning a general election they weren't prepared to govern from after
Absolutely. He was on the BBC yesterday explaining what a difficult and emotional choice it had been deciding to resign as PM and how much he needed his wife's support. It still didn't seem to have registered that the difficult and emotional choices had in fact been made by over 300 Labour MPs who wanted shot of him and had declared for Burnham to replace him and that the "difficult" choices he had were to resign or be utterly humiliated because he had no support to talk of in the party.
Sympathising with the human part of Starmer for the moment, it will be difficult for him to process what has happened and that process will be painful and may go wrong: see Truss, who drew exactly the wrong conclusions. But the interview also highlights another problem: that Starmer's internal state is of interest. It really isn't. I sympathise with his distress and his desire to be a good husband and father, and good for him. But it's not part of the job.
Fair enough. I think Starmer’s 2024 victory does sit alongside Attlee’s and Blair’s… but Attlee and Blair then did something with their victories.
It really doesn't. For their faults, Attlee and Blair set out a positive vision and attracted over 49% and 43% of the popular vote.
Starmer never set out a vision, he promised change without fully laying out what that meant. And he u-turned on a number of things that did feature in his manifesto meaning that he lost trust very quickly. The majority he got was due to the fracturing of British politics and he secured under 34% of the vote. There was never a love for Starmer. No enthusiasm. No passion.
In no way are these things comparable.
Attlee won because of the war; I’m not certain it was anything in particular that Attlee did that got them the victory. Blair’s victory came on the back of what Kinnock and Smith had done. I think one can argue that Starmer, of the three, did most work in terms of transforming Labour! Although Starmer also won because of the fracturing of the Right and the failures of Johnson and Truss.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Not in Poland it isn't.
Something for those who don’t think we should re-arm
The Germans are already noticing that the Poles are not referring to them on European defence anymore. The Poles rejected a request to by German for some items and went with South Korea.
This bleeds though into strategy and what action will be taken.
As the Poles see it, when they have the largest land army in Europe, they will be in charge of what they do with it.
Poland = 800 main battle tanks Germany = 300
The current estimates are that we have 20-25 that are actually capable of moving under their own power at any one time although we have a "paper" strength of just over 200. Once again, as with the navy, the difference between what we are supposed to be getting for our £60bn a year and what we actually get is roughly 90%.
That's what happens when you try to maintain multiple capabilities on inadequate money.
We need to prioritise, and MBTs simply aren't a priority for an island nation.
Oh I agree. And Ukraine have shown that MBTs are just death traps anyway on a modern battlefield. The utter disgrace, and I include Healey in this despite his "principled" resignation, is that consecutive SoS for Defence have allowed a situation where our armed forces are so run down that they are barely a shadow of what they bear to be with almost no operational capacity. We incur all of these costs but have next to nothing to show for it. Another example is that France have now intercepted 5 shadow ships from Russia. We have managed to stop 1 and this needed French cooperation. Its utterly pathetic.
This didn't start with Healey, its been an increasing problem for decades, but I see no signs that his tenure showed any improvement. I seriously doubt if the extra £4.7bn we are talking about would even allow us to restore our paper strength, let alone make any improvements. Whether that should be our priority is a separate issue.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Ahem. As I pointed out in my Intermarium article, Poland did some serious spending on defence and instead of wasting it on studies they actually bought things and deployed them. I know, crazy right? A defence investment plan that actually works? Who could have imagined such a thing? (side-eyes MOD)
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Not in Poland it isn't.
Something for those who don’t think we should re-arm
The Germans are already noticing that the Poles are not referring to them on European defence anymore. The Poles rejected a request to by German for some items and went with South Korea.
This bleeds though into strategy and what action will be taken.
As the Poles see it, when they have the largest land army in Europe, they will be in charge of what they do with it.
Poland = 800 main battle tanks Germany = 300
Damn, that would take a fair few drones to get rid of that lot.
From memory, and from a couple of years back, on any given day there will be approx 10,000 drones in the air over Eastern Ukraine.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Not in Poland it isn't.
Something for those who don’t think we should re-arm
The Germans are already noticing that the Poles are not referring to them on European defence anymore. The Poles rejected a request to by German for some items and went with South Korea.
This bleeds though into strategy and what action will be taken.
As the Poles see it, when they have the largest land army in Europe, they will be in charge of what they do with it.
Poland = 800 main battle tanks Germany = 300
Damn, that would take a fair few drones to get rid of that lot.
The Ukrainians are still fielding tanks and APCs
In addition, many of the next generation of tanks and APCs have point defences - they might well be more survivable on a drone filled battlefield than unprotected infantry.
Don Jr. owns 311,433 shares of GrabAGun Digital Holdings ($PEW). Got 300,000 just for being a "consultant" in December 2024, one month after the election. GREAT timing, some would say PERFECT timing! Board seat too. BEAUTIFUL board seat, the best!
Who took it public? Colombier II, a SPAC run by Omeed Malik, Don Jr.'s partner at 1789 Capital AND his co-owner at Executive Branch, the D.C. club with the $500,000 entrance fee. Very exclusive! You can't get in, believe me!
And who showed up at that club's launch party? Paul Atkins, the brand new SEC Chair, 5 days on the job! Two months later the SEC approves the $PEW listing. Total coincidence, many people are saying!
But wait, there's MORE! GrabAGun's financing runs through Credova, owned by PublicSquare, where Don Jr. is ALSO a board member and investor. He gets paid coming AND going. Smart!
Malik even bragged Don Jr.'s "cult of personality" would make the stock trade above the fundamentals. They put it in the SEC filing! IN WRITING!
Now Daddy's ATF proposes the BIGGEST gun rule change in 20 YEARS, firearms shipped to your door like a pizza. 3.3 MILLION buyers a year, says the ATF. One of 34 — THIRTY FOUR — deregulations from Trump's own executive order. The Post Office wants to mail handguns too. Beautiful synergy!
Trump: Our American ancestors did not shed their blood just so that a band of thieves, radicals, and lunatics could come in and loot pillage our nation https://x.com/Acyn/status/2073247842718949436
According to his own criterion, Trump has no American ancestors.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Not in Poland it isn't.
Something for those who don’t think we should re-arm
The Germans are already noticing that the Poles are not referring to them on European defence anymore. The Poles rejected a request to by German for some items and went with South Korea.
This bleeds though into strategy and what action will be taken.
As the Poles see it, when they have the largest land army in Europe, they will be in charge of what they do with it.
Poland = 800 main battle tanks Germany = 300
Damn, that would take a fair few drones to get rid of that lot.
The Ukrainians are still fielding tanks and APCs
In addition, many of the next generation of tanks and APCs have point defences - they might well be more survivable on a drone filled battlefield than unprotected infantry.
There are no unprotected infantry on a drone filled battlefield. Not living, at least.
'When King Charles made public his accounts this week, he surreptitiously slipped into the document a quite significant change.
In a few amended lines in the Sovereign Grant Annual Report, the duties of the monarchy have been covertly changed. The King’s title as “Defender of the Faith” has been replaced by “Protector of the Space for Faith within the Multi-faith Nation.”
Fair enough. I think Starmer’s 2024 victory does sit alongside Attlee’s and Blair’s… but Attlee and Blair then did something with their victories.
It really doesn't. For their faults, Attlee and Blair set out a positive vision and attracted over 49% and 43% of the popular vote.
Starmer never set out a vision, he promised change without fully laying out what that meant. And he u-turned on a number of things that did feature in his manifesto meaning that he lost trust very quickly. The majority he got was due to the fracturing of British politics and he secured under 34% of the vote. There was never a love for Starmer. No enthusiasm. No passion.
In no way are these things comparable.
Attlee won because of the war; I’m not certain it was anything in particular that Attlee did that got them the victory. Blair’s victory came on the back of what Kinnock and Smith had done. I think one can argue that Starmer, of the three, did most work in terms of transforming Labour! Although Starmer also won because of the fracturing of the Right and the failures of Johnson and Truss.
Blair did Ming Vase just like Starmer. The main difference (other than charisma and comms) wasn't about Vision it was about a healthier economic and fiscal position, and a more stable international one, on taking office.
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
You could abolish IHT and tax it as income of the recipient.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Not in Poland it isn't.
Something for those who don’t think we should re-arm
The Germans are already noticing that the Poles are not referring to them on European defence anymore. The Poles rejected a request to by German for some items and went with South Korea.
This bleeds though into strategy and what action will be taken.
As the Poles see it, when they have the largest land army in Europe, they will be in charge of what they do with it.
Poland = 800 main battle tanks Germany = 300
Damn, that would take a fair few drones to get rid of that lot.
The Ukrainians are still fielding tanks and APCs
In addition, many of the next generation of tanks and APCs have point defences - they might well be more survivable on a drone filled battlefield than unprotected infantry.
The old Soviet tanks had a wonderful weak point, in that their turrets could be blown half way to the moon with a well-placed drone charge.
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
Well it's both. No wealth, no tax. No transfer, no tax.
A new national poll reveals a striking paradox in public sentiment ahead of America's 250th anniversary: a disconnect between Americans' strong patriotic pride and their lack of civic knowledge.
According to a survey from the libertarian Cato Institute think tank of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in late June, 86% of respondents said they are grateful to be American and 70% believe the nation's founding principles remain relevant.
However, nearly half of Americans (46%) don't know that America's 250th anniversary commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
That’s what happens when history and civics curricula are reduced to slavery and racism and AmericaBad, as opposed to continuing to advocate for those founding principles.
Can you turn anything into a MAGA conspiracy theory? The article does not say that. It does talk about a lot about the education system and the decentralised nature of it that means kids in different parts of the country learn different things.
Try this one. "Do you think creationism should be part of the school curriculum in your state?"
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
But the point is, IHT requires a valuation of all assets. If that can be done for IHT it can be done for a wealth tax.
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
But the point is, IHT requires a valuation of all assets. If that can be done for IHT it can be done for a wealth tax.
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
But the point is, IHT requires a valuation of all assets. If that can be done for IHT it can be done for a wealth tax.
It can. I don't see it happening but imo the reason is more political than practicality. I doubt the sort of WT that would raise big £££ would be popular.
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
But the point is, IHT requires a valuation of all assets. If that can be done for IHT it can be done for a wealth tax.
There is something like 600k deaths per year, so a tiny proportion of the total housing stock. It is something that is done once and it can take bloody ages to settle as the administrators and HMRC can come up with differing opinions. For a wealth tax you need to do everybody every year. It can be done, but its orders of magnitude greater task.
With tax you can come with two options really. Imperfect but easy to take tax e.g. income tax, sales taxes on good purchased. Or you can do much more done the US route of everybody needs to do self assessment under the fear (which is far less these days) of the IRS auditting your entire taxable history at some point.
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
But the point is, IHT requires a valuation of all assets. If that can be done for IHT it can be done for a wealth tax.
But the assets are transferable, introduce a wealth tax and suddenly a lot of wealth will be stored outside the UK..
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
But the point is, IHT requires a valuation of all assets. If that can be done for IHT it can be done for a wealth tax.
Except you’d have to do it every year, not just once, so that’s a hell if a lot for HMRC to keep up on, and IHT has exemptions for things like shares held in private companies because they are effectively impossible to value. Are you proposing keeping such exemptions?
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
But the point is, IHT requires a valuation of all assets. If that can be done for IHT it can be done for a wealth tax.
Except you’d have to do it every year, not just once, so that’s a hell of a lot for HMRC to keep up on, and IHT has exemptions for things like shares held in private companies because they are effectively impossible to value. Are you proposing keeping such exemptions?
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Not in Poland it isn't.
Something for those who don’t think we should re-arm
The Germans are already noticing that the Poles are not referring to them on European defence anymore. The Poles rejected a request to by German for some items and went with South Korea.
This bleeds though into strategy and what action will be taken.
As the Poles see it, when they have the largest land army in Europe, they will be in charge of what they do with it.
Poland = 800 main battle tanks Germany = 300
Damn, that would take a fair few drones to get rid of that lot.
The Ukrainians are still fielding tanks and APCs
In addition, many of the next generation of tanks and APCs have point defences - they might well be more survivable on a drone filled battlefield than unprotected infantry.
There are no unprotected infantry on a drone filled battlefield. Not living, at least.
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
You could abolish IHT and tax it as income of the recipient.
I favour that. Corbyn Labour had it in there iirc.
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
But the point is, IHT requires a valuation of all assets. If that can be done for IHT it can be done for a wealth tax.
But the assets are transferable, introduce a wealth tax and suddenly a lot of wealth will be stored outside the UK..
Indeed. It has to be a land tax because you can't relocate land
A new national poll reveals a striking paradox in public sentiment ahead of America's 250th anniversary: a disconnect between Americans' strong patriotic pride and their lack of civic knowledge.
According to a survey from the libertarian Cato Institute think tank of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in late June, 86% of respondents said they are grateful to be American and 70% believe the nation's founding principles remain relevant.
However, nearly half of Americans (46%) don't know that America's 250th anniversary commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
That’s what happens when history and civics curricula are reduced to slavery and racism and AmericaBad, as opposed to continuing to advocate for those founding principles.
Can you turn anything into a MAGA conspiracy theory? The article does not say that. It does talk about a lot about the education system and the decentralised nature of it that means kids in different parts of the country learn different things.
Try this one. "Do you think creationism should be part of the school curriculum in your state?"
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
You could abolish IHT and tax it as income of the recipient.
Collection would be much harder and the tax take lower. Currently the IHT has to be paid before probate is granted. Taxing the recipient would require each recipient to complete a tax return (many of whom might not normally do so) and pay the resulting tax. How do you enforce that? Also how do you deal with physical assets? They would still need to be valued as per IHT.
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
But the point is, IHT requires a valuation of all assets. If that can be done for IHT it can be done for a wealth tax.
But the assets are transferable, introduce a wealth tax and suddenly a lot of wealth will be stored outside the UK..
Worse than that, anyone with any entrepreneurial spirit will simply set up somewhere else in the first place.
There’s plenty of jurisdictions in the US, Asia, Middle East, who welcome new enterprise and startup companies with open arms.
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
But the point is, IHT requires a valuation of all assets. If that can be done for IHT it can be done for a wealth tax.
But the assets are transferable, introduce a wealth tax and suddenly a lot of wealth will be stored outside the UK..
Then also introduce an export tax on personal possessions.
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
But the point is, IHT requires a valuation of all assets. If that can be done for IHT it can be done for a wealth tax.
There is something like 600k deaths per year, so a tiny proportion of the total housing stock. It is something that is done once and it can take bloody ages to settle as the administrators and HMRC can come up with differing opinions. For a wealth tax you need to do everybody every year. It can be done, but its orders of magnitude greater task.
With tax you can come with two options really. Imperfect but easy to take tax e.g. income tax, sales taxes on good purchased. Or you can do much more done the US route of everybody needs to do self assessment under the fear (which is far less these days) of the IRS auditting your entire taxable history at some point.
Edit -> my example of income tax meant to say PAYE income tax.
Fair enough. I think Starmer’s 2024 victory does sit alongside Attlee’s and Blair’s… but Attlee and Blair then did something with their victories.
It really doesn't. For their faults, Attlee and Blair set out a positive vision and attracted over 49% and 43% of the popular vote.
Starmer never set out a vision, he promised change without fully laying out what that meant. And he u-turned on a number of things that did feature in his manifesto meaning that he lost trust very quickly. The majority he got was due to the fracturing of British politics and he secured under 34% of the vote. There was never a love for Starmer. No enthusiasm. No passion.
In no way are these things comparable.
Attlee won because of the war; I’m not certain it was anything in particular that Attlee did that got them the victory. Blair’s victory came on the back of what Kinnock and Smith had done. I think one can argue that Starmer, of the three, did most work in terms of transforming Labour! Although Starmer also won because of the fracturing of the Right and the failures of Johnson and Truss.
The memory of the 1930's too. There was a feeling that we hadn't fought a War to go back to that.
A new national poll reveals a striking paradox in public sentiment ahead of America's 250th anniversary: a disconnect between Americans' strong patriotic pride and their lack of civic knowledge.
According to a survey from the libertarian Cato Institute think tank of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in late June, 86% of respondents said they are grateful to be American and 70% believe the nation's founding principles remain relevant.
However, nearly half of Americans (46%) don't know that America's 250th anniversary commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
That’s what happens when history and civics curricula are reduced to slavery and racism and AmericaBad, as opposed to continuing to advocate for those founding principles.
Can you turn anything into a MAGA conspiracy theory? The article does not say that. It does talk about a lot about the education system and the decentralised nature of it that means kids in different parts of the country learn different things.
Try this one. "Do you think creationism should be part of the school curriculum in your state?"
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
But the point is, IHT requires a valuation of all assets. If that can be done for IHT it can be done for a wealth tax.
But the assets are transferable, introduce a wealth tax and suddenly a lot of wealth will be stored outside the UK..
Then also introduce an export tax on personal possessions.
LOL. The contortions those who simply seem to dislike others doing well go to is hilarious....
A new national poll reveals a striking paradox in public sentiment ahead of America's 250th anniversary: a disconnect between Americans' strong patriotic pride and their lack of civic knowledge.
According to a survey from the libertarian Cato Institute think tank of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in late June, 86% of respondents said they are grateful to be American and 70% believe the nation's founding principles remain relevant.
However, nearly half of Americans (46%) don't know that America's 250th anniversary commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
That’s what happens when history and civics curricula are reduced to slavery and racism and AmericaBad, as opposed to continuing to advocate for those founding principles.
Can you turn anything into a MAGA conspiracy theory? The article does not say that. It does talk about a lot about the education system and the decentralised nature of it that means kids in different parts of the country learn different things.
Try this one. "Do you think creationism should be part of the school curriculum in your state?"
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
I miss the people judging the line calls...if only for the LOLs of watching them dance around to try and dodge the 140mph rocket serves like they are playing dodge ball.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
Four 'coulds' and a 'would' in that short passage. To say nothing of a 'sources close' and a 'potentially'. I can't identify a single claim of an actual fact.
A new national poll reveals a striking paradox in public sentiment ahead of America's 250th anniversary: a disconnect between Americans' strong patriotic pride and their lack of civic knowledge.
According to a survey from the libertarian Cato Institute think tank of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in late June, 86% of respondents said they are grateful to be American and 70% believe the nation's founding principles remain relevant.
However, nearly half of Americans (46%) don't know that America's 250th anniversary commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
That’s what happens when history and civics curricula are reduced to slavery and racism and AmericaBad, as opposed to continuing to advocate for those founding principles.
Can you turn anything into a MAGA conspiracy theory? The article does not say that. It does talk about a lot about the education system and the decentralised nature of it that means kids in different parts of the country learn different things.
Try this one. "Do you think creationism should be part of the school curriculum in your state?"
A new national poll reveals a striking paradox in public sentiment ahead of America's 250th anniversary: a disconnect between Americans' strong patriotic pride and their lack of civic knowledge.
According to a survey from the libertarian Cato Institute think tank of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in late June, 86% of respondents said they are grateful to be American and 70% believe the nation's founding principles remain relevant.
However, nearly half of Americans (46%) don't know that America's 250th anniversary commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
That’s what happens when history and civics curricula are reduced to slavery and racism and AmericaBad, as opposed to continuing to advocate for those founding principles.
Can you turn anything into a MAGA conspiracy theory? The article does not say that. It does talk about a lot about the education system and the decentralised nature of it that means kids in different parts of the country learn different things.
Try this one. "Do you think creationism should be part of the school curriculum in your state?"
No it isn't, it is a view, biblically upheld in Genesis. Creationism should certainly be studied in Religious Studies lessons for example
Indeed, it’s a phrase which means very different things to different people, and which the atheist elites like to use as a smear against those who believe in God.
A new national poll reveals a striking paradox in public sentiment ahead of America's 250th anniversary: a disconnect between Americans' strong patriotic pride and their lack of civic knowledge.
According to a survey from the libertarian Cato Institute think tank of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in late June, 86% of respondents said they are grateful to be American and 70% believe the nation's founding principles remain relevant.
However, nearly half of Americans (46%) don't know that America's 250th anniversary commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
That’s what happens when history and civics curricula are reduced to slavery and racism and AmericaBad, as opposed to continuing to advocate for those founding principles.
Can you turn anything into a MAGA conspiracy theory? The article does not say that. It does talk about a lot about the education system and the decentralised nature of it that means kids in different parts of the country learn different things.
Try this one. "Do you think creationism should be part of the school curriculum in your state?"
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
Yes that is a wealth tax. Most assets are covered.
It's a transfer tax not a wealth tax. Granted the wealthy the person who died the more tax is paid but it's still paid as part of the process of giving it to someone else..
But the point is, IHT requires a valuation of all assets. If that can be done for IHT it can be done for a wealth tax.
There is something like 600k deaths per year, so a tiny proportion of the total housing stock. It is something that is done once and it can take bloody ages to settle as the administrators and HMRC can come up with differing opinions. For a wealth tax you need to do everybody every year. It can be done, but its orders of magnitude greater task.
With tax you can come with two options really. Imperfect but easy to take tax e.g. income tax, sales taxes on good purchased. Or you can do much more done the US route of everybody needs to do self assessment under the fear (which is far less these days) of the IRS auditting your entire taxable history at some point.
A property tax would be very simple to set up (and far simpler than council tax). It's a LVT that would be tricky, and that why I lean towards the former, even if the latter is better in principle.
Last sale price + change in MSOA HPI since the last sale. Easy.
'When King Charles made public his accounts this week, he surreptitiously slipped into the document a quite significant change.
In a few amended lines in the Sovereign Grant Annual Report, the duties of the monarchy have been covertly changed. The King’s title as “Defender of the Faith” has been replaced by “Protector of the Space for Faith within the Multi-faith Nation.”
As Head of State, His Majesty’s duties include the opening of Parliament, appointment of ministers and other key public officials, granting Royal Assent to legislation, convening the Privy Council and receiving the credentials of foreign Ambassadors and High Commissioners. His Majesty is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and protects the space for Faith within the multi-faith nation.
But I don't think it's as shocking as Gavin Ashenden makes out. A quick search on some earlier reports (2019/20, 2020/21) mentions the Queen's role as Supreme Governor, but the word faith isn't included at all.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Not in Poland it isn't.
Something for those who don’t think we should re-arm
The Germans are already noticing that the Poles are not referring to them on European defence anymore. The Poles rejected a request to by German for some items and went with South Korea.
This bleeds though into strategy and what action will be taken.
As the Poles see it, when they have the largest land army in Europe, they will be in charge of what they do with it.
Poland = 800 main battle tanks Germany = 300
Damn, that would take a fair few drones to get rid of that lot.
The Ukrainians are still fielding tanks and APCs
In addition, many of the next generation of tanks and APCs have point defences - they might well be more survivable on a drone filled battlefield than unprotected infantry.
There are no unprotected infantry on a drone filled battlefield. Not living, at least.
MBTs are not employed much.
MBTs are still on the front lines.
From my reading they tend to be used as artillery these days from deep camouflage and within air defence protection. And even then they get hit. Tanks have been a major player in warfare for just over 100 years. Its been a seriously good run but I think it is over.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Not in Poland it isn't.
Something for those who don’t think we should re-arm
The Germans are already noticing that the Poles are not referring to them on European defence anymore. The Poles rejected a request to by German for some items and went with South Korea.
This bleeds though into strategy and what action will be taken.
As the Poles see it, when they have the largest land army in Europe, they will be in charge of what they do with it.
Poland = 800 main battle tanks Germany = 300
Damn, that would take a fair few drones to get rid of that lot.
From memory, and from a couple of years back, on any given day there will be approx 10,000 drones in the air over Eastern Ukraine.
"He will make an excellent drone!" - Sgt.-Maj. Data
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
'When King Charles made public his accounts this week, he surreptitiously slipped into the document a quite significant change.
In a few amended lines in the Sovereign Grant Annual Report, the duties of the monarchy have been covertly changed. The King’s title as “Defender of the Faith” has been replaced by “Protector of the Space for Faith within the Multi-faith Nation.”
As Head of State, His Majesty’s duties include the opening of Parliament, appointment of ministers and other key public officials, granting Royal Assent to legislation, convening the Privy Council and receiving the credentials of foreign Ambassadors and High Commissioners. His Majesty is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and protects the space for Faith within the multi-faith nation.
But I don't think it's as shocking as Gavin Ashenden makes out. A quick search on some earlier reports (2019/20, 2020/21) mentions the Queen's role as Supreme Governor, but the word faith isn't included at all.
You can't effect a shift in the tax burden from income to wealth without increasing tax on wealth.
You could have stopped after 11 words.
But more seriously, the talk of a wealth tax usually comes from those who have never accumulated wealth, or inherited it without any effort.
Could you explain to me, someone who has worked their absolute arse off for two decades, employing 5 people, taking risks, paying rather large amounts of tax in income taken out, to build up a relatively small company that makes me the wealthiest person in the history of my family, why I should have bothered, if my modest wealth is then taxed too?
It is a MASSIVE disincentive to the enterprise that our already fragile economy relies upon.
A new national poll reveals a striking paradox in public sentiment ahead of America's 250th anniversary: a disconnect between Americans' strong patriotic pride and their lack of civic knowledge.
According to a survey from the libertarian Cato Institute think tank of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in late June, 86% of respondents said they are grateful to be American and 70% believe the nation's founding principles remain relevant.
However, nearly half of Americans (46%) don't know that America's 250th anniversary commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
That’s what happens when history and civics curricula are reduced to slavery and racism and AmericaBad, as opposed to continuing to advocate for those founding principles.
Can you turn anything into a MAGA conspiracy theory? The article does not say that. It does talk about a lot about the education system and the decentralised nature of it that means kids in different parts of the country learn different things.
Try this one. "Do you think creationism should be part of the school curriculum in your state?"
No it isn't, it is a view, biblically upheld in Genesis. Creationism should certainly be studied in Religious Studies lessons for example
Indeed, it’s a phrase which means very different things to different people, and which the atheist elites like to use as a smear against those who believe in God.
A new national poll reveals a striking paradox in public sentiment ahead of America's 250th anniversary: a disconnect between Americans' strong patriotic pride and their lack of civic knowledge.
According to a survey from the libertarian Cato Institute think tank of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in late June, 86% of respondents said they are grateful to be American and 70% believe the nation's founding principles remain relevant.
However, nearly half of Americans (46%) don't know that America's 250th anniversary commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
That’s what happens when history and civics curricula are reduced to slavery and racism and AmericaBad, as opposed to continuing to advocate for those founding principles.
No, its American ignorance that has been stereotypical for generations. Its what happens when movies like The Patriot are considered documentaries.
Very few of those answering the survey will have been kids at school recently.
Regarding taxes, there's plenty of scope for Burnham to increase taxes without breaking manifesto promises imo. The key relevant statements about tax from the actual manifesto would seem to be:
"[Labour will] keep taxes, inflation and mortgages as low as possible." "we will not increase National Insurance, the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT." "Labour will cap corporation tax at the current level of 25 per cent, the lowest in the G7"
So, off the top of my head: property taxes, wealth taxes, additional taxes on unearned income, IHT rates, CGT rates, non-Dom taxes, ex-pat taxes... are all options.
To those of you still wedded to the 'cut spending' panacea, I say wake up - it's not happened through 14 years of Tory rule, it's certainly not going to happen now or for the foreseeable (not should it imo).
Taxes will rise. We all know it.
SKS had the right idea on spending. Not cut it, but slow the rate of growth. However there may come a point where we have no choice. We’re not there yet.
I’d be interested in what sort of wealth taxes you’d, or others, would suggest. Property is the simple one. But other assets, which is effectively what wealth is. How do you value a collection of pictures, or wine, or other assst classes for example.
I think they will look at property up beyond that, I’m not sure.
Yes, property has got to be the easy one to go for.
Regarding wider wealth, I would just apply the rules that are used for IHT. Anyone completing an annual tax return would need to self-declare if their wealth is above a threshold and self-value, with HMRC having the ability to challenge/review.
With a threshold of £1m say for personal wealth excluding principal residence and pension pot*, you're looking at c.600k people with an aggregate wealth of about £3 trillion. 1% pa tax on that is a very useful £30bn - more than pays for the Defence review. It would be the price of British Citizenship - living abroad or assets abroad would not be an exemption.
I've done this quickly, my figures may be out - I'm sure someone will point it out if so - but the principle is sound.
(*Pension LTA would need to come back - it should be re-implemented anyway.)
Very difficult to implement and much is subjective. That’s why wealth taxes usually end up as property taxes
Er... IHT?
That’s a formal valuation via probate. The issue with wealth taxes is subjective valuations and the ability to hide wealth (eg jewellery).
A formal valuation every year would be a ridiculous burden
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
You can't effect a shift in the tax burden from income to wealth without increasing tax on wealth.
You could have stopped after 11 words.
But more seriously, the talk of a wealth tax usually comes from those who have never accumulated wealth, or inherited it without any effort.
Could you explain to me, someone who has worked their absolute arse off for two decades, employing 5 people, taking risks, paying rather large amounts of tax in income taken out, to build up a relatively small company that makes me the wealthiest person in the history of my family, why I should have bothered, if my modest wealth is then taxed too?
It is a MASSIVE disincentive to the enterprise that our already fragile economy relies upon.
Well, I'm sure you'd agree then that taxing the stock of wealth is far more desirible than the accumulation of it? My marginal rate of tax is 56% - that is preventing me build up the wealth you describe. I'll then get stung for up to £40k in Stamp Duty when I buy a place with my partner.
That's a far bigger disincentive to wealth accumulation and social mobility than an ongoing tax.
'Top private schools have backed plans for a US-style scholarship system to recruit the best state school athletes.
The multi-million pound national scheme, endorsed by Harrow, Rugby and Epsom College, would be partly funded by private schools and offer hundreds of scholarships to the most talented sportspeople from the age of 13.
It would initially be piloted with cricket and rugby – sports in which private schools already produce many of the UK’s top athletes – but could be expanded to other sports in the future.
The plan is proposed in a report commissioned by Sir Peter Lampl, Britain’s leading education philanthropist. It is modelled on the athletic scholarships used by US colleges to recruit the best baseball, basketball and American football players.'
'When King Charles made public his accounts this week, he surreptitiously slipped into the document a quite significant change.
In a few amended lines in the Sovereign Grant Annual Report, the duties of the monarchy have been covertly changed. The King’s title as “Defender of the Faith” has been replaced by “Protector of the Space for Faith within the Multi-faith Nation.”
As Head of State, His Majesty’s duties include the opening of Parliament, appointment of ministers and other key public officials, granting Royal Assent to legislation, convening the Privy Council and receiving the credentials of foreign Ambassadors and High Commissioners. His Majesty is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and protects the space for Faith within the multi-faith nation.
But I don't think it's as shocking as Gavin Ashenden makes out. A quick search on some earlier reports (2019/20, 2020/21) mentions the Queen's role as Supreme Governor, but the word faith isn't included at all.
Ashenden is an ex Anglican who dines out on once upon a time, when Anglican, having been one of the 36 Chaplains to the (as it then was) Queen. He is a rightist rent a quote polemicist who pretends rubbish like Charles betraying coronation oaths. The title Defender of the Faith is inherited by all monarchs subsequent to being granted to Henry VIII, while still Roman Catholic by the pope for his services in opposing the Reformation.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
Four 'coulds' and a 'would' in that short passage. To say nothing of a 'sources close' and a 'potentially'. I can't identify a single claim of an actual fact.
One fact is that the Poles would conquer Kalingrad within days and the Russians would not be getting it back.
'When King Charles made public his accounts this week, he surreptitiously slipped into the document a quite significant change.
In a few amended lines in the Sovereign Grant Annual Report, the duties of the monarchy have been covertly changed. The King’s title as “Defender of the Faith” has been replaced by “Protector of the Space for Faith within the Multi-faith Nation.”
As Head of State, His Majesty’s duties include the opening of Parliament, appointment of ministers and other key public officials, granting Royal Assent to legislation, convening the Privy Council and receiving the credentials of foreign Ambassadors and High Commissioners. His Majesty is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and protects the space for Faith within the multi-faith nation.
But I don't think it's as shocking as Gavin Ashenden makes out. A quick search on some earlier reports (2019/20, 2020/21) mentions the Queen's role as Supreme Governor, but the word faith isn't included at all.
Indeed and I suspect Gavin Ashenden would not like the King doubling down on his role as solely Defender of the Protestant Church of England Faith given he is now a Roman Catholic priest
You can't effect a shift in the tax burden from income to wealth without increasing tax on wealth.
You could have stopped after 11 words.
But more seriously, the talk of a wealth tax usually comes from those who have never accumulated wealth, or inherited it without any effort.
Could you explain to me, someone who has worked their absolute arse off for two decades, employing 5 people, taking risks, paying rather large amounts of tax in income taken out, to build up a relatively small company that makes me the wealthiest person in the history of my family, why I should have bothered, if my modest wealth is then taxed too?
It is a MASSIVE disincentive to the enterprise that our already fragile economy relies upon.
Well, I'm sure you'd agree then that taxing the stock of wealth is far more desirible than the accumulation of it? My marginal rate of tax is 56% - that is preventing me build up the wealth you describe. I'll then get stung for £40k in Stamp Duty when I buy a place with my partner.
That's a far bigger disincentive to wealth accumulation and social mobility than an ongoing tax.
Rubbish. It is more than possible to accumulate wealth in this country. Especially if you set up a business. Make the sacrifices of weekends and evenings, and employ others.
Why should I have bothered making the sacrifices if my modest wealth would then be taxed? Why would others bother?
A new national poll reveals a striking paradox in public sentiment ahead of America's 250th anniversary: a disconnect between Americans' strong patriotic pride and their lack of civic knowledge.
According to a survey from the libertarian Cato Institute think tank of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in late June, 86% of respondents said they are grateful to be American and 70% believe the nation's founding principles remain relevant.
However, nearly half of Americans (46%) don't know that America's 250th anniversary commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
That’s what happens when history and civics curricula are reduced to slavery and racism and AmericaBad, as opposed to continuing to advocate for those founding principles.
Can you turn anything into a MAGA conspiracy theory? The article does not say that. It does talk about a lot about the education system and the decentralised nature of it that means kids in different parts of the country learn different things.
Try this one. "Do you think creationism should be part of the school curriculum in your state?"
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
'When King Charles made public his accounts this week, he surreptitiously slipped into the document a quite significant change.
In a few amended lines in the Sovereign Grant Annual Report, the duties of the monarchy have been covertly changed. The King’s title as “Defender of the Faith” has been replaced by “Protector of the Space for Faith within the Multi-faith Nation.”
As Head of State, His Majesty’s duties include the opening of Parliament, appointment of ministers and other key public officials, granting Royal Assent to legislation, convening the Privy Council and receiving the credentials of foreign Ambassadors and High Commissioners. His Majesty is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and protects the space for Faith within the multi-faith nation.
But I don't think it's as shocking as Gavin Ashenden makes out. A quick search on some earlier reports (2019/20, 2020/21) mentions the Queen's role as Supreme Governor, but the word faith isn't included at all.
We atheists not welcome?
Atheist faiths and unfaiths in their many and various forms (see John Gray: Seven Types of Atheism) are well protected in our society, to the extent that for some it is the default position.
You can't effect a shift in the tax burden from income to wealth without increasing tax on wealth.
You could have stopped after 11 words.
But more seriously, the talk of a wealth tax usually comes from those who have never accumulated wealth, or inherited it without any effort.
Could you explain to me, someone who has worked their absolute arse off for two decades, employing 5 people, taking risks, paying rather large amounts of tax in income taken out, to build up a relatively small company that makes me the wealthiest person in the history of my family, why I should have bothered, if my modest wealth is then taxed too?
It is a MASSIVE disincentive to the enterprise that our already fragile economy relies upon.
Depends how much it's taxed, I'd have thought. I sense you enjoy your work and take pride in having built something. So I doubt the prospect of a relatively modest annual sum would have caused you to become a blue or white collar wage earner instead. There's no quasi religious principle in my mind that says wealth accrued via business activities must not be touched at all by the fiscal regime.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
Four 'coulds' and a 'would' in that short passage. To say nothing of a 'sources close' and a 'potentially'. I can't identify a single claim of an actual fact.
One fact is that the Poles would conquer Kaliningrad within days and the Russians would not be getting it back.
You can't effect a shift in the tax burden from income to wealth without increasing tax on wealth.
You could have stopped after 11 words.
But more seriously, the talk of a wealth tax usually comes from those who have never accumulated wealth, or inherited it without any effort.
Could you explain to me, someone who has worked their absolute arse off for two decades, employing 5 people, taking risks, paying rather large amounts of tax in income taken out, to build up a relatively small company that makes me the wealthiest person in the history of my family, why I should have bothered, if my modest wealth is then taxed too?
It is a MASSIVE disincentive to the enterprise that our already fragile economy relies upon.
Depends how much it's taxed, I'd have thought. I sense you enjoy your work and take pride in having built something. So I doubt the prospect of a relatively modest annual sum would have caused you to become a blue or white collar wage earner instead. There's no quasi religious principle in my mind that says wealth accrued via business activities must not be touched at all by the fiscal regime.
Hang on so you want to both tax the profits of his business and slowly destroy the assets of the business year on year as well..
'Top private schools have backed plans for a US-style scholarship system to recruit the best state school athletes.
The multi-million pound national scheme, endorsed by Harrow, Rugby and Epsom College, would be partly funded by private schools and offer hundreds of scholarships to the most talented sportspeople from the age of 13.
It would initially be piloted with cricket and rugby – sports in which private schools already produce many of the UK’s top athletes – but could be expanded to other sports in the future.
The plan is proposed in a report commissioned by Sir Peter Lampl, Britain’s leading education philanthropist. It is modelled on the athletic scholarships used by US colleges to recruit the best baseball, basketball and American football players.'
You can't effect a shift in the tax burden from income to wealth without increasing tax on wealth.
You could have stopped after 11 words.
But more seriously, the talk of a wealth tax usually comes from those who have never accumulated wealth, or inherited it without any effort.
Could you explain to me, someone who has worked their absolute arse off for two decades, employing 5 people, taking risks, paying rather large amounts of tax in income taken out, to build up a relatively small company that makes me the wealthiest person in the history of my family, why I should have bothered, if my modest wealth is then taxed too?
It is a MASSIVE disincentive to the enterprise that our already fragile economy relies upon.
Depends how much it's taxed, I'd have thought. I sense you enjoy your work and take pride in having built something. So I doubt the prospect of a relatively modest annual sum would have caused you to become a blue or white collar wage earner instead. There's no quasi religious principle in my mind that says wealth accrued via business activities must not be touched at all by the fiscal regime.
Hang on so you want to both tax the profits of his business and slowly destroy the assets of the business year on year as well..
A new national poll reveals a striking paradox in public sentiment ahead of America's 250th anniversary: a disconnect between Americans' strong patriotic pride and their lack of civic knowledge.
According to a survey from the libertarian Cato Institute think tank of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted in late June, 86% of respondents said they are grateful to be American and 70% believe the nation's founding principles remain relevant.
However, nearly half of Americans (46%) don't know that America's 250th anniversary commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
That’s what happens when history and civics curricula are reduced to slavery and racism and AmericaBad, as opposed to continuing to advocate for those founding principles.
Can you turn anything into a MAGA conspiracy theory? The article does not say that. It does talk about a lot about the education system and the decentralised nature of it that means kids in different parts of the country learn different things.
Try this one. "Do you think creationism should be part of the school curriculum in your state?"
No it isn't, it is a view, biblically upheld in Genesis. Creationism should certainly be studied in Religious Studies lessons for example
America (supposedly) has a seperation of church and state, so doesn't teach religion in public schools.
I wonder how, for example, you would teach European history from 1500-1700 without teaching a very great deal about the facts, demography, teachings, ecclesiology, differences and consequences of religion.
It’s not under Russian control, and never has been under Russian control. A couple of Russian ‘civilians’ may have sneaked a flag in somewhere close to the town for a photo op, but that’s definitely not the same.
'Top private schools have backed plans for a US-style scholarship system to recruit the best state school athletes.
The multi-million pound national scheme, endorsed by Harrow, Rugby and Epsom College, would be partly funded by private schools and offer hundreds of scholarships to the most talented sportspeople from the age of 13.
It would initially be piloted with cricket and rugby – sports in which private schools already produce many of the UK’s top athletes – but could be expanded to other sports in the future.
The plan is proposed in a report commissioned by Sir Peter Lampl, Britain’s leading education philanthropist. It is modelled on the athletic scholarships used by US colleges to recruit the best baseball, basketball and American football players.'
'Top private schools have backed plans for a US-style scholarship system to recruit the best state school athletes.
The multi-million pound national scheme, endorsed by Harrow, Rugby and Epsom College, would be partly funded by private schools and offer hundreds of scholarships to the most talented sportspeople from the age of 13.
It would initially be piloted with cricket and rugby – sports in which private schools already produce many of the UK’s top athletes – but could be expanded to other sports in the future.
The plan is proposed in a report commissioned by Sir Peter Lampl, Britain’s leading education philanthropist. It is modelled on the athletic scholarships used by US colleges to recruit the best baseball, basketball and American football players.'
Haven't Millfied been doing this for the last 80 years?
Lots of private school do this. Maro Itoje went to Harrow under a rugby scholarship.
Millfield is particularly charitable in that they also take the thicko poshos too thick to get into other private schools and train them for a career in sports or the arts or if they even too shit for that a career in making tampon ads.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Next time you are inclined to think defence spending shouldn't be increased/Russia isn't a threat, remember this.
Russia planning attack on Poland to test Nato resolve, US warns
Critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones, with soldiers potentially crossing the border from Kaliningrad or Belarus
Russia is planning an armed “provocation” on Polish soil to test Nato’s resolve, the United States has warned.
Polish critical infrastructure could be targeted by missiles and drones or Russian soldiers could cross the border into Nato territory.
Washington has issued several warnings to Warsaw about the plot, sources close to Karol Nawrocki, the Polish president, told Onet, the Polish news outlet, which, along with The Telegraph, is owned by Axel Springer and is part of its Global Reporters Network.
The goal of the Russian provocation would be to escalate tensions and force Western allies to suspend aid to Ukraine. It could be launched in a matter of months.
This has been going on for ages and no one in Europe has shown the conviction to actually do anything about it. The defence spending ramping is pure virtue signalling.
Not in Poland it isn't.
Something for those who don’t think we should re-arm
The Germans are already noticing that the Poles are not referring to them on European defence anymore. The Poles rejected a request to by German for some items and went with South Korea.
This bleeds though into strategy and what action will be taken.
As the Poles see it, when they have the largest land army in Europe, they will be in charge of what they do with it.
You can't effect a shift in the tax burden from income to wealth without increasing tax on wealth.
You could have stopped after 11 words.
But more seriously, the talk of a wealth tax usually comes from those who have never accumulated wealth, or inherited it without any effort.
Could you explain to me, someone who has worked their absolute arse off for two decades, employing 5 people, taking risks, paying rather large amounts of tax in income taken out, to build up a relatively small company that makes me the wealthiest person in the history of my family, why I should have bothered, if my modest wealth is then taxed too?
It is a MASSIVE disincentive to the enterprise that our already fragile economy relies upon.
Depends how much it's taxed, I'd have thought. I sense you enjoy your work and take pride in having built something. So I doubt the prospect of a relatively modest annual sum would have caused you to become a blue or white collar wage earner instead. There's no quasi religious principle in my mind that says wealth accrued via business activities must not be touched at all by the fiscal regime.
Hang on so you want to both tax the profits of his business and slowly destroy the assets of the business year on year as well..
Course not. I was simply answering his "why would I bother?" question.
Comments
The Americans and Germans have been particularly bad in this respect, but the Ukranians also see the Brits and French as not all good.
They’ve built their own weapons to send to Moscow, because many of their ‘allies’ got cold feet at the prospect of bombing a nuclear power, even when considered necessary to stop their aggression.
https://x.com/BohuslavskaKate/status/2073079552683675951
https://www.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2023/01/29/the-intermarium/
We need to prioritise, and MBTs simply aren't a priority for an island nation.
Starmer never set out a vision, he promised change without fully laying out what that meant. And he u-turned on a number of things that did feature in his manifesto meaning that he lost trust very quickly. The majority he got was due to the fracturing of British politics and he secured under 34% of the vote. There was never a love for Starmer. No enthusiasm. No passion.
In no way are these things comparable.
Who took it public? Colombier II, a SPAC run by Omeed Malik, Don Jr.'s partner at 1789 Capital AND his co-owner at Executive Branch, the D.C. club with the $500,000 entrance fee. Very exclusive! You can't get in, believe me!
And who showed up at that club's launch party? Paul Atkins, the brand new SEC Chair, 5 days on the job! Two months later the SEC approves the
$PEW
listing. Total coincidence, many people are saying!
But wait, there's MORE! GrabAGun's financing runs through Credova, owned by PublicSquare, where Don Jr. is ALSO a board member and investor. He gets paid coming AND going. Smart!
Malik even bragged Don Jr.'s "cult of personality" would make the stock trade above the fundamentals. They put it in the SEC filing! IN WRITING!
Now Daddy's ATF proposes the BIGGEST gun rule change in 20 YEARS, firearms shipped to your door like a pizza. 3.3 MILLION buyers a year, says the ATF. One of 34 — THIRTY FOUR — deregulations from Trump's own executive order. The Post Office wants to mail handguns too. Beautiful synergy!
Who wins? The family business. The stock's down 85% but don't worry, the regulators are FAMILY FRIENDS!
https://x.com/TrumpsPortfolio/status/2073316031624310884
Trump: Our American ancestors did not shed their blood just so that a band of thieves, radicals, and lunatics could come in and loot pillage our nation
https://x.com/Acyn/status/2073247842718949436
https://x.com/girlpatriot1974/status/2072188846691983778
TL:DR a massive well done to all of the fans and the host nations, looks like an awesome worldwide party with very few reports of any trouble.
This didn't start with Healey, its been an increasing problem for decades, but I see no signs that his tenure showed any improvement. I seriously doubt if the extra £4.7bn we are talking about would even allow us to restore our paper strength, let alone make any improvements. Whether that should be our priority is a separate issue.
In addition, many of the next generation of tanks and APCs have point defences - they might well be more survivable on a drone filled battlefield than unprotected infantry.
MBTs are not employed much.
In a few amended lines in the Sovereign Grant Annual Report, the duties of the monarchy have been covertly changed. The King’s title as “Defender of the Faith” has been replaced by “Protector of the Space for Faith within the Multi-faith Nation.”
https://www.premierchristianity.com/opinion/king-charles-has-broken-his-coronation-oath-to-defend-the-christian-faith/21787.article?utm_source=null&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=15542511_PCTY WEEKLY (4/07/26)&dm_i=16DQ,994OF,4U4J,12UP06,1,0,0,0
AI lawyers could save you thousands - Law firms under pressure to lower fees and work faster or face risk of automation
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/07/04/ai-lawyers-are-here-and-could-save-you-thousands/
Yes, modern Western designs are a lot better.
"Do you think creationism should be part of the school curriculum in your state?"
Yes: 51%
No: 32%
Research Co. / June 6, 2026
https://x.com/USA_Polling/status/2072785978356351192
The juice won't be worth the squeeze.
With tax you can come with two options really. Imperfect but easy to take tax e.g. income tax, sales taxes on good purchased. Or you can do much more done the US route of everybody needs to do self assessment under the fear (which is far less these days) of the IRS auditting your entire taxable history at some point.
I can't see the benefit.
There’s plenty of jurisdictions in the US, Asia, Middle East, who welcome new enterprise and startup companies with open arms.
There was a feeling that we hadn't fought a War to go back to that.
Murray vs. Krygios, on the middle Monday.
Last sale price + change in MSOA HPI since the last sale. Easy.
Here's the relevant paragraph;
As Head of State, His Majesty’s duties include the opening of Parliament, appointment of ministers and other key public officials, granting Royal Assent to legislation, convening the Privy Council and receiving the credentials of foreign Ambassadors and High Commissioners. His
Majesty is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and protects the space for Faith within the multi-faith nation.
But I don't think it's as shocking as Gavin Ashenden makes out. A quick search on some earlier reports (2019/20, 2020/21) mentions the Queen's role as Supreme Governor, but the word faith isn't included at all.
But more seriously, the talk of a wealth tax usually comes from those who have never accumulated wealth, or inherited it without any effort.
Could you explain to me, someone who has worked their absolute arse off for two decades, employing 5 people, taking risks, paying rather large amounts of tax in income taken out, to build up a relatively small company that makes me the wealthiest person in the history of my family, why I should have bothered, if my modest wealth is then taxed too?
It is a MASSIVE disincentive to the enterprise that our already fragile economy relies upon.
Very few of those answering the survey will have been kids at school recently.
A formal valuation every year would be a ridiculous burden
That's a far bigger disincentive to wealth accumulation and social mobility than an ongoing tax.
Well, Wimbledon made Murray.
The multi-million pound national scheme, endorsed by Harrow, Rugby and Epsom College, would be partly funded by private schools and offer hundreds of scholarships to the most talented sportspeople from the age of 13.
It would initially be piloted with cricket and rugby – sports in which private schools already produce many of the UK’s top athletes – but could be expanded to other sports in the future.
The plan is proposed in a report commissioned by Sir Peter Lampl, Britain’s leading education philanthropist. It is modelled on the athletic scholarships used by US colleges to recruit the best baseball, basketball and American football players.'
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/04/private-schools-plan-poach-best-state-school-athletes/
Why should I have bothered making the sacrifices if my modest wealth would then be taxed? Why would others bother?
I am an American in my Principles and wish we would let them alone to govern or misgovern themselves as they think proper.
But maybe it should be reciprocal?
https://x.com/maks_nafo_fella/status/2073343334295204061
It’s not under Russian control, and never has been under Russian control. A couple of Russian ‘civilians’ may have sneaked a flag in somewhere close to the town for a photo op, but that’s definitely not the same.
Millfield is particularly charitable in that they also take the thicko poshos too thick to get into other private schools and train them for a career in sports or the arts or if they even too shit for that a career in making tampon ads.
They've learned the hard way.