“Only the little people pay taxes” – Owl

Up to a quarter of taxpayers could be paying a higher effective tax rate than Rishi Sunak, research suggests.

Henry Zeffman www.thetimes.co.uk

Nurses, teachers and paramedics are among millions of Britons whose salaries are taxed at a higher rate than the prime minister’s investment income.

Sunak became the first prime minister since David Cameron to publish a tax return last month. It showed his income from shares dwarfed his ministerial salary. The £1.6 million in capital gains Sunak reported for last year was taxed at 20 per cent, whereas the overall tax rate on his other income was 37 per cent.

The return showed that Sunak paid tax at an effective rate of 22 per cent on his total earnings and gains. According to research by the Economic Change Unit, a campaign group, this is approximately the same effective tax rate as those on salaries of about £40,000 a year, about a quarter of taxpayers.

Like Sunak, some of those with incomes above £40,000 will be taxed at a lower rate because a portion of their income comes from capital gains or dividends, although this is likely to be a small percentage. Government statistics suggest that few outside the top percentage of earners derive a significant income from investments.

The research also found that more than half of those who live in the same constituency as 10 Downing Street — the Conservative-held Cities of London & Westminster — are likely to be paying a higher effective tax rate than Sunak.

The residents of the constituency have a median income of £46,000, the highest of any UK constituency, according to data for the 2020-21 tax year. Those earning £46,000 pay an effective tax rate of 33 per cent.

Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty, are estimated to have combined wealth of £730 million.

The research is in support of Stop the Squeeze, a campaign calling on the government to increase wealth taxes.

Gemma McGough, an entrepreneur and member of the Patriotic Millionaires group that is supporting the campaign, said: “The fact those with high levels of wealth can pay lower tax rates than millions of people who work hard and have little economic security is a sign of a tax system that is broken.”

Mike Clancy, the general secretary of the trade union Prospect, said: “Prospect members doing the right thing, paying their tax and working exceptionally hard to keep government functioning are having to strike because their pay has fallen so far behind inflation. It will be galling for them that the prime minister pays a significantly lower effective tax rate than they do.”

When Sunak released his tax return, Downing Street said it was “entirely routine for savers to choose to invest in funds that focus on long-term growth rather than short-term dividend income. The tax return clearly shows that a considerable amount of capital gains tax is being paid.”

At the time, Dan Neidle, founder of Tax Policy Associates, said: “In paying capital gains tax at 20 per cent, Sunak is doing nothing remotely wrong or improper, but it’s hard to justify this disparity and it’s in Sunak’s gift to end it.”

“The Conservatives are responsible for this sewage crisis after allowing water companies to dump sewage in our rivers for years. They need to take responsibility for fixing it. The public shouldn’t be forced to pay the price with our rivers and coasts ruined for generations to come.” – Tim Farron

Helena Horton www.theguardian.com 

Thérèse Coffey has admitted she cannot end the sewage scandal, in what critics are calling a “complete abdication of duty”.

Launching her department’s cleaner water plan at the London Wetland Centre in Barnes in the south of the capital, the environment secretary said upgrading the sewage network to stop spills could add hundreds of pounds each to people’s bills.

She said: “While London and the Thames may have space for its new supersewer, wider upgrades of the sewer network lead to destructive works on our streets and put hundreds of pounds on people’s bills. There’s no way we can stop pollution overnight. If there were, I would do it without hesitation.”

Coffey took a veiled swipe at the Labour party, which has vowed to “end the Tory sewage scandal”, by saying that those who say they could end the problem are “either detached from reality or being definitively dishonest with the public”.

She also claimed “reaching the gold standard for ecological status would mean taking us back to the natural state of our rivers from the year 1840”, which was “not practical or desirable”. As an illustration of the difficulties, she pointed out that “no one is contemplating ripping up half of Sheffield to let the River Don run free, but without that it would never be scored as gold standard”.

Her plan has been criticised for including measures such as a ban on plastic in wet wipes that were announced years ago. Meanwhile, critics say they cannot see the tough new actions needed to tackle the crisis. The environment secretary recently faced calls by campaigners and political parties to resign for “not caring” about the sewage scandal, and the Conservative party is concerned that anger over local pollution issues may cost seats in the upcoming local elections. Coffey was recently named the least popular cabinet minister – by some margin – among Tory voters in a Conservative Home poll.

This week it was revealed that even England’s most celebrated beaches are being marred by sewage, with Blue Flag areas in Sussex and Devon having experienced 8,500 hours of dumping last year.

The strategy also focuses on getting people to use less water, encouraging the rollout of smart meters and a campaign for a change in lifestyle choices.

When asked by journalists how she personally reduced her own water usage, Coffey said she had a meter that once detected a leak. The water minister, Rebecca Pow, said she had just installed her third water butt.

The Liberal Democrats’ environment spokesperson, Tim Farron, said: “It’s disgraceful that Thérèse Coffey is throwing in the towel in the fight to protect our rivers from filthy sewage dumping. This is a complete abdication of duty.

“The Conservatives are responsible for this sewage crisis after allowing water companies to dump sewage in our rivers for years. They need to take responsibility for fixing it. The public shouldn’t be forced to pay the price with our rivers and coasts ruined for generations to come.”

Campaigners said her plans did not go far enough to protect rivers and wildlife.

Matt Browne, the head of policy and advocacy at Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “What we are still waiting to see is a comprehensive plan built around delivering on a long-term target for the health of our waters and an ambitious UK chemicals strategy to weave these individual threads into a world-leading tapestry of action to restore our rivers and seas. With so much of our wildlife and waters struggling under the weight of pollution, development and overuse, only a well-focused, well-resourced and far-reaching plan will turn the tide for nature.”

Spaceport Cornwall has been funded with public money including an initial £20 million package which included £12m from Cornwall Council, £7.85m from the UK Space Agency and £2.5m from Virgin Orbit.

Isn’t a spaceport without a launcher a bit like a pub with no beer? – Owl

Richard Whitehouse www.cornwalllive.com 

Virgin Orbit, the only company which has a contract to launch from Spaceport Cornwall, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US. The firm, which carried out its first launch from the Newquay base in January, which ended in failure, had laid off most of its staff last week.

Today (April 4) it was announced that Sir Richard Branson’s company had filed for bankruptcy protection after last-minute bids to secure new funding failed. Last week the company announced it was making 85% of staff redundant.

In a statement Virgin Orbit chief executive Dan Hart said: “While we have taken great efforts to address our financial position and secure additional financing, we ultimately must do what is best for the business. We believe the cutting-edge launch technology this team has created will have wide appeal to buyers as we continue in the process to sell the company. At this stage, we believe the Chapter 11 process represents the best path forward to identify and finalise an efficient and value-maximising sale.”

The announcement comes a few months after Virgin Orbit undertook its first launch from Spaceport Cornwall which ended in failure following an anomaly with the LauncherOne rocket which was set to launch small satellites into space. The modified 747 plane Cosmic Girl successfully took off from Cornwall Airport Newquay but the rocket it carried – containing nine satellites from seven customers meant to go into orbit – didn’t reach space.

Virgin Orbit was the only operator with horizontal launch capacity to have a deal with Spaceport Cornwall. The system works by using a modified 747 aeroplane – Cosmic Girl – with the rocket launcher attached under a wing which can launch in the air.

Since the news first broke that Virgin Orbit was in financial difficulty Spaceport Cornwall and Cornwall Council has insisted that it is “business as usual”. Melissa Quinn, head of Spaceport Cornwall, said last week: “We are saddened to hear the news from Virgin Orbit. We wish the very best for all of the team who have been affected.

“Spaceport Cornwall continues to operate with no direct impact to the team or project. As the UK’s only licensed spaceport we continue to grow the space cluster in Cornwall through developing future launch operations, opening a new facility to support global space and satellite businesses and inspire local school children into STEAM (science, technology, engineering, maths) through our outreach programme.”

Spaceport Cornwall has been funded with public money including an initial £20million package which included £12m from Cornwall Council, £7.85m from the UK Space Agency and £2.5m from Virgin Orbit.

The development of Spaceport Cornwall was hailed as a way of generating more high value, high skilled jobs for Cornwall and securing a part of the global space industry. It was predicted that hundreds of new jobs could be created and that firms could relocate to Cornwall.

There are already a number of companies in Cornwall which have links to the space industry including Goonhilly Earth Station. As well as being able to launch to space Spaceport Cornwall aimed to have facilities which could be used in research and development in the space sector.

Spaceport Cornwall was the first spaceport in the UK to receive a licence to operate. Other spaceports are planned in other parts of the UK, including Scotland which will be home to the first vertical launch site in the country.

Devon, one of England’s best loved regions for staycations, has four of its beaches in the top (or should that be bottom) five shamed by the new analysis.

Two are in East Devon: Sidmouth at 4 and Exmouth at 5.

Simon Jupp, who voted down in October 2021 an opposition amendment to the Environment Bill seeking to place a legal duty on companies to stop spills,  takes the opportunity for a photo op at the mouth of the Sid but not Exmouth. Cheeky! – Owl

Shocking new data has revealed that some of England’s so-called cleanest beaches might not actually be that clean at all.

Jenny Medlicott www.lbc.co.uk

Analysis by the Lib Dems has revealed that a number of the England’s ‘Blue Flag’ beaches, an accreditation given only to ‘well managed beaches with excellent water quality’, are in fact blighted by sewage.

The figures show that during 2022, sewage was dumped onto various beaches a total of 1,504 times, totalling 8,497 hours of sewage dumped on beaches marked as safe and environmentally friendly.

Devon, one of England’s best loved regions for staycations, has four of its beaches shamed by the new analysis.

The top five beaches with the most waste are as follows:

1. Blackpool Sands Beach, Stoke Fleming, Devon – 63 spills, totalling 1,014 hours
2. Meadfoot Beach, Torquay, Devon – 79 spills, 946 hours
3. Beachlands Beach, Hayling Island, Hampshire – 102 spills, 793 hours
4. Sidmouth Town Beach, Sidmouth, Devon – 59 spills, 631 hours
5. Exmouth Beach, Exmouth, Devon – 39 spills, 470 hours

Brighton beach in Sussex was also amongst some of the worst hit beaches, which had 45 spills last year.

Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “Britain’s beaches are being ruined by profiteering water companies getting away with dumping sewage as the government has failed to act for years.

“What is the point of an environment secretary who doesn’t care about the environment?”

South West Water was singled out among firms who regularly use ‘storm overflows’ to pump sewage into bodies of water.

The company’s operating officer, John Halsall said: “We are reducing the use of storm overflows and our plan is working but there is more to do.

“We want everyone to feel confident about the water quality at their favourite beaches and to know that we are serious about reducing the use of storm overflows.”

The environment secretary Thérèse Coffey was expected to announce government plans to clean up Britain’s waterways today but instead has sparked outrage with her statement, which has been described as a ‘complete abdication of duty’.

Liberal Democrat’s environment spokesman, Tim Farron MP, said: “It’s disgraceful that Thérèse Coffey is throwing in the towel in the fight to protect our rivers from filthy sewage dumping. This is a complete abdication of duty.”

Ministers are attempting to wrest control of the narrative on Britain’s sewage-strewn rivers and beaches by threatening water companies with unlimited fines.

Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey launched the government’s euphemistically titled “plan for cleaner and more plentiful water” in a speech yesterday morning.

Locally, Simon spins on the Sid: Simon “I would never vote to pollute our water” Jupp tries to take full credit for the “well timed” announcement from SSW of future investment plans to upgrade sewer overflows in Sidmouth and Tipton St John, alongside work to support nutrient neutrality in Axminster. [Sorry Exmouth, he seems to have deserted you! – Owl]

 “I have repeatedly called on South West Water to invest in East Devon. [Only after massive public protest – Owl]

“I’m really pleased they’ve listened to the case I have put forward on the floor of Parliament and in cross-party meetings with local councils.”

Time elapsed since the last Defra plan to tackle sewage: 221 days (or just over seven months). On August 26, the department (under George Eustice) announced its “toughest” targets yet on polluting water companies … guess they weren’t tough enough.

Yuck: If last year’s figures are anything to go by, you can expect raw sewage to pour into English rivers and seas 825 times during the course of today. Playbook recalls that angry constituent emails poured into Tory MPs’ inboxes in October 2021 (!) after they voted down an opposition amendment to the Environment Bill seeking to place a legal duty on companies to stop spills. Tory MPs were deeply unhappy about the backlash and it was enough to trigger a defensive social media campaign. [eg see above from Simon] This plan represents an attempt by the Tories to get on the front foot — but will it be enough?

Also worth noting: There are three national newspaper campaigns on this — the Telegraph’s Clean Rivers campaign, the Times’ Clean It Up campaign, and i and New Scientist’s joint Save Britain’s Rivers effort. It means there’s lots of press interest in (currently negative) stories about the problem … but also interest in touting any effective steps and signs of progress that will help these papers eventually claim victory (the Tel’s campaign has been running for over a year now). Coffey sets out today’s plans in a Telegraph op-ed.

Labour and the Lib Dems have long been trying to pooh-pooh the government’s record. Shadow Environment Secretary Jim McMahon said today’s announcement is “nothing more than a shuffling of the deck chairs” and “a reheating of old failed measures.” The Lib Dems point out ministers have been talking about banning wet wipes containing plastic — one of today’s main announcements — for the past five years (the Mirror’s John Stevens writes it up). And the BBC notes the government decided against doing so after the last consultation. Defra aides insist the opposition’s demands for a speedy solution are impossible given the scale of the problem.  

From Politico London Playbook with local embellishments added