Did Labour rule out a rise to National Insurance Contributions in its election manifesto? The document states that the party would “not increase taxes on working people”, including NICs. Yet every day, the signal grows clearer that employer National Insurance is set to rise.
Having ruled out increases to income tax, VAT and (apparently, only) employee NICs, the Government is now scrambling around for relatively small and increasingly niche pots of money. It is also looking to loosen the fiscal rules in order to fund further borrowing for investment.
It will probably get away with both. Voters do not directly pay employer contributions, while most will not be impacted by any changes to capital gains tax or inheritance tax. The biggest challenge for Labour is that even with all these tax rises and increased borrowing, public services are unlikely to improve all that much.
That is because any additional taxes will go to filling the fiscal blackhole and fund higher public sector pay, while the borrowing will only go towards capital spending, such as on major infrastructure projects. The real political risk is not that Labour goes into the next election with a higher overall tax burden, but that ordinary people still cannot easily secure a GP appointment, the prisons are still overflowing and the public realm clearly remains on its knees.
Cyclists must stop on red
Let there be no doubt, the capital is better for becoming a cycling city. Cyclists take cars off the road, improving congestion and air quality for all Londoners. Yet cyclists have also needlessly curated a reputation for ignoring the rules of the road, to the detriment of other users, not least pedestrians.
Red lights apply to cyclists as well, though one would not always know it. To that end, City of London Police have launched a crackdown on those who think the rules do not apply to them, with those convicted ordered by courts to pay hundreds of pounds in fines.
The Standard will continue to champion the rollout of segregated cycle highways and laud the physical and mental health benefits of getting around on one’s own steam. But please, for the sake of those who stick to two feet as well as your own wallets: give way at red lights.
