Today’s political headlines include Brexiteers warnings that the UK must not stay in EU customs arrangements after 2022, the Government is attempting to bring Labour MPs on side to back Brexit, McDonnell calls for an end to Universal Credit and pension tax relief to be cut to fund NHS spending boost.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Brexiteers warn that the UK must not stay in EU customs arrangements after 2022<\/span> Government tries to get Labour MPs to back Brexit deal<\/span> McDonnell calls for end to Universal Credit<\/span> Pension tax relief to be cut to fund NHS spending boost<\/span> Japan would welcome UK to Trans-Pacific Partnership<\/span> Hammond considers reward for landlords who sell to tenants<\/span> Field claims Government always knew impact of Universal Credit<\/span> Haldane appointed to chair new Industrial Strategy Council<\/span>
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that Brexiteers, including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab,\u00a0are now warning Theresa May that, while they are prepared to give her room for manoeuvre in the Brexit talks, she must not keep the UK in the EU\u2019s customs arrangements beyond the next election in 2022. However the EU has insisted that the proposals cannot be time-limited. Some Leavers have suggested that they will use the budget to put pressure on May.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>According<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0The Daily Telegraph<\/em>, Government whips have held talks with up to 25 Labour MPs in a bid to persuade them to vote through the Government\u2019s Brexit deal, nullifying opposition from Eurosceptic backbenchers. However, this has infuriated the Conservative Eurosceptics, some of whom are now threatening to vote against parts of the budget, with the European Research Group meeting tomorrow to set out plans for a \u2018guerrilla campaign\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>As the BBC\u00a0reports<\/a>, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell used various interviews over the weekend to claim that Universal Credit \u2018will have to go\u2019 as it is not \u2018providing the safety net that people expect when they need support\u2019 and is \u2018just not sustainable\u2019. He also said that Labour was considering reducing the length of the working week.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that it expects Philip Hammond to use the budget to cut pension tax relief in order to pay for the NHS\u2019s \u00a320bn funding boost. Steve Webb, the former Lib Dem pensions minister who now works for Royal London, warned that the move is \u2018no way to run pensions\u2019 as the \u2018people who will be affected are being prudent, making their own provision for retirement – which the Government repeatedly tells us they want us to do\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Interviewed<\/a>\u00a0by the\u00a0Financial Times<\/em>, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said that his country would welcome the UK to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal \u2018with open arms\u2019. He warned against a \u2018disorderly Brexit\u2019 and said that while the UK would no longer be a gateway to Europe after Brexit, it was still \u2018equipped with global strength\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian\u00a0<\/em>claims<\/a>\u00a0that Philip Hammond is considering using the budget to bring in a so-called \u2018good landlord\u2019 tax break. This would reward those who sell properties to existing tenants. The plan has been thought up by the thinktank Onward, which proposes that landlords should not pay capital gains tax if a property is sold to tenants who have occupied the property for three years or longer, funded by curtailing other buy-to-let tax benefits.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Sun\u00a0<\/em>says<\/a>\u00a0that Frank Field, Chair of the Commons Work and Pensions Committee, has claimed that the Government always knew that the rollout of Universal Credit would leave some families up to \u00a3200 a month worse off. He told the paper that \u2018The frailest shoulders have borne most of the budget deficit reduction strategy \u201csuccesses\u201d’.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Financial Times\u00a0<\/em>reports<\/a>\u00a0that Andy Haldane, the Bank of England\u2019s Chief Economist, is to be appointed as the chair of the new Industrial Strategy Council. The body will hold the Government to account and improve the implementation of the policy, which aims to improve the UK\u2019s poor productivity.<\/p>\n