As summer threatens to give way to autumn, the drum beat of tax rises is growing ever louder. Today, it was data from the Office for National Statistics showing thatpublic sector net borrowing has surged to a worse-than-forecast £3.1billion in July, significantly higher than the year before.
Meanwhile, public sector net debt excluding state-owned banks has hit an eye-watering 99.4 per cent of GDP. The reason for this latest fiscal setback is not revenue — income tax receipts have grown strongly and debt interest fallen. Rather, it was a rise in government spending and in particular on public services. Something unlikely to be ameliorated by the highly generous public sector pay deals of recent weeks.
The sums only add up if, as the Chancellor has all but guaranteed, taxes rise in the autumn, with inheritance tax, pension tax relief and capital gains tax in the frame. Enjoy the last few weeks of summer while it lasts.
The cost of housing
It is the perennial battle between local authorities and developers. The former usually want as much affordable housing as possible on new sites, the latter as little. In this way, Battersea Power Station is a story of our time.
The initial planning permission for the site required 636 homes — roughly 15 per cent of the total — to be classified as “affordable”. On request, the then Conservative-run council agreed to reduce this to 386 homes (nine per cent) in 2017 due to spiralling costs. Now Wandsworth’s Labour-run council wants to change this.
And they have a strong case. Local campaigners point to the 13,500 residents on housing waiting lists in the borough. And while the council cannot demand more affordable housing be added to the current phase of the development, it can be smart. For example, by using planning permission as a bargaining chip to pressure the Battersea Power Station Development Company to boost provision in later phases. City life is about give and take. Development is vital and must be viable, but affordable housing cannot be relegated to a “nice to have”.
A bumpy ride
It is not just you: the skies really are growing bumpier. Yesterday, two cabin crew on an easyJet flight from Corfu to Gatwick were injured as their aircraft was hit by strong turbulence, with pilots forced to make an emergency landing in Rome.
Climate change is partly to blame, with scientific research suggesting that warmer air changes wind speeds and makes tropical storms more severe. So, if you want to keep flying, best to buckle up.
