Labour tax plans show it is not a serious contender
IF A Labour government takes power Britain will face its highest level of taxation for 70 years.
A government led by Jeremy Corbyn would also end tax breaks on pensions
Anyone who earns more than £80,000 a year will have to pay a 45p rate of income tax.
Tim Knox, director for the Centre of Policy Studies, has described the proposals as “economically illiterate”.
He said: “To increase the rates so dramatically at precisely the time when the UK should be striving to establish its international competitiveness and when many other countries are cutting their headline rates – particularly in the US – would be suicidal for the UK economy.”
A government led by Jeremy Corbyn would also end tax breaks on pensions, reverse plans to raise the threshold on inheritance tax and extend stamp duty on derivative trading in the City.
It’s pretty much bad news for everybody who isn’t too young to vote or living on benefits. The voters will continue to desert Labour in droves.
With every passing day (what used to be) the second major political party in this country makes it apparent that in truth they have no interest in winning this election.
It is also very doubtful whether this scrabbling for tax revenue would deliver the goods and pay for the lavish spending that Labour has in mind.
John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, is also – shockingly – unsure about the extent of the deficit.
In an interview on the Today programme he estimated it to be between £68-70billion whereas the actual figure is £52billion.
After Diane Abbott’s recent gaffes it’s clear Labour’s grasp of arithmetic is poor – and so is its grasp on reality.
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The new face of warfare
An RAF drone strike prevented Islamic State from beheading a group of manacled prisoners, giving them the chance to escape.
Drone technology in warfare seems impersonal and cold-blooded but when it can achieve results such as this then it has to be welcomed.
A drone strike can be precisely targeted and deadly, without putting our own personnel in danger.
And it is becoming increasingly clear that it will be a major factor in the defeat of IS.
Not all attacks are as dramatically successful as this one at Abu Kamal on the banks of the Euphrates on the Syrian border with Iraq but they are happening day by day and week by week.
ISIS trained youngster speaks of horrors of being a child soldier
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The famous five (Danes)
Most of us could not cope with looking after five Great Danes as Angela Atkins does.
She affectionately calls them “destruction on four legs”.
Though, strictly speaking, “destruction on 20 legs” would be more accurate.