Conservatives join police in criticising former Tory Justice Secretary’s sentencing plans

“Britain’s criminal justice system has become a revolving door for the most prolific criminals. Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics show that just 10 per cent of criminals are responsible for around half of all offences. Meanwhile, thousands of prisoners have been released early under a Labour scheme that started in September last year to address an overcrowding crisis in prisons. An independent sentencing review by David Gauke, the former Conservative justice secretary, published last week by the Government, proposes that some prisoners should be released after serving just one third of their sentences and that custodial sentences of less than 12 months should be largely scrapped. Astonishingly, when Conservative MP and shadow education minister Neil O’Brien crunched the numbers, he found that MoJ statistics show people convicted of theft, drug offences and common assault and battery were handed shorter sentences if they had a greater number of previous offences. “A massive chunk of crime is caused by a small minority of criminals,” says O’Brien.” – Daily Telegraph

• Tagging will create more work for police, warns Met chief – The Times
• ‘We can’t cope’ Britain’s top cop slams Labour plans to slash jail time and says officers will be overwhelmed – The Sun

Editorial

• The Government’s soft-touch jail reforms — coupled with budget cuts — will lead to a dangerous crimewave – The Sun

Khan’s calls for cannabis decriminalisation are rebuffed by Shadow Home Secretary

“Sir Sadiq Khan has backed calls for the possession of small quantities of natural cannabis to be decriminalised, saying current rules “cannot be justified”. A report by the independent London Drugs Commission (LDC), which was et up by Khan in 2022, found the current laws on cannabis were “disproportionate to the harms it can pose”, following a study of how the drug is policed around the world. Under current laws, cannabis is a class B drug and those found in possession face a fine or imprisonment. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Possession of cannabis should not be decriminalised like this. We have seen some US and Canadian cities devastated by soft policies on addictive and harmful drugs – now Sadiq Khan wants to send London the same way.” – The i

• Put cannabis on par with crack, says policing chief in rebuke for Khan – Daily Telegraph
• Angela Rayner: I’ve taken all sorts — but we won’t legalise cannabis – The Times

Comment

• Our cities stink of weed. Decriminalisation is naive and dangerous – Michael Deacon, Daily Telegraph
• Sadiq Khan is off his head – cannabis plan isn’t progress, it’s surrender to addiction and violence and will ruin London – Mercy Muroki, The Sun

US trade court says Donald Trump’s global tariffs are illegal

“A US court has ruled that Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariff scheme is illegal, in a blow to the White House that could throw the president’s global trade policy into disarray. The US Court of International Trade found on Wednesday that Trump did not have the authority to use the emergency economic powers legislation that he cited when he imposed sweeping global tariffs last month. The ruling by the panel of judges is a dramatic twist in the trade wars that Trump has launched since returning to the presidency, and comes as his administration is racing to cut trade deals after suspending the imposition of most of its higher tariffs. While the Trump administration said it would launch an appeal, the ruling will embolden opponents of the tariffs in corporate America, foreign capitals and the US Congress.” – FT

• US federal court blocks Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs – Guardian
• Tariff Blow. Trump’s global tariffs blocked by court as ILLEGAL as White House declares national emergency and vows to fight back – The Sun
• Trump’s tariffs dealt catastrophic blow as judge rules worldwide trade levies ‘illegal’ – Daily Mail
• US court blocks Trump’s tariffs saying he exceeded presidential authority – The i
• NHS and Treasury clash over medicine bill to placate Trump – The Times

Comment

• Court tariffs bombshell should inspire trading partners to defy Trump – Alan Beattie, FT

….meanwhile US President loses patience with Putin over peace talks

“Donald Trump issued an ominous warning to Vladimir Putin after accusing him of deliberately drawing out the fragile peace process in Ukraine. The US president was asked whether he thought it was “disrespectful” of his Russian counterpart to accuse him of being overly emotional. A reporter questioned: “Do you believe the Russians are being disrespectful when they say that your criticisms of Putin are simply an emotional response? And do you still believe that Putin actually wants to end the war? Mr Trump responded: “I can’t tell you that, but I’ll let you know in about two weeks. Within two weeks – we’re going to find out very soon. We’re going to find out whether or not he’s tapping us along or not.” The Republican then added a vague six-word caution, saying if Putin was, “we’ll respond a little bit differently”. – Daily Express

• Trump gives Putin ‘deadline’ to end war – Daily Telegraph
• Shameless Putin demands ‘written’ NATO pledge as Trump issues peace deadline – Daily Express
• Trump slams Putin for ‘tapping us along’ on Ukraine peace as Vlad demands ‘shock Nato expansion pledge’ & fresh talks – The Sun
• Britain will increase cyberattacks against Russia and China – The Times
• Kremlin holds back peace memorandum that it promised Trump – Guardian

Reeves claims pension pots will be boosted but faces criticism for targeting tax rises

“Workers will gain a £6,000 boost to their pension pots because of a Government decision to push forward with pension “megafunds”, Rachel Reeves has claimed. The Chancellor has confirmed plans to force pension funds to combine their assets into larger megafunds, with ministers arguing that the increase in scale will make it easier for them to invest in UK assets, boosting growth. According to the Government’s pensions review, which has been published today, the reforms are designed to drive higher returns for savers, in part by cutting waste in the system. Ministers want to double the number of UK pension megafunds by 2030, with the pensions review claiming that by that year, the schemes could be saving £1bn annually through economies of scale and improved investment strategies. As a result, it says an average earner who saves over their career could see a £6,000 increase to their defined contribution benefit scheme through the creation of the megafunds.” – The i

• Rachel Reeves announces £6,000 boost for pension pots – but there’s a catch – Daily Express
• Will you be hit by tax rises? The people that Reeves is most likely to target – The i
• Rachel Reeves is set to betray farmers again ‘by cutting a massive £5billion lifeline’ – Daily Mail
• Reeves’s NI raid risks tax doom loop, says Moody’s – Daily Telegraph

Editorial

• Britain needs to stop fiddling with fiscal policy – FT

Conservatives and Labour say Farage’s policy promise sums don’t add up

“Nigel Farage refused to rule out scrapping the state pensions triple lock yesterday as he struggled to defend plans for a spending splurge of up to £85billion. The Reform UK leader unveiled a string of policies in a major speech, including scrapping the two-child benefit cap, fully reinstating winter fuel payments and raising the tax-free income allowance to £20,000. He also pledged a transferable marriage tax allowance if his party wins the next election, aimed at incentivising marriage and encouraging people to have more children by making it more affordable.It would exempt one spouse from paying any tax on the first £25,000 of their income, as revealed by the Mail. But the Conservatives branded the package ‘fantasy’ economics and ‘Corbynism in a different colour’ because of the ‘billions in unfunded commitments’. Experts said it could cost as much £85billion, a figure that dwarfs the £45billion of unfunded tax cuts announced by former Tory Prime Minister Liz Truss in her disastrous 2022 mini-Budget. Even leading Reform activist Tim Montgomerie, who defected from the Tories after founding the ConservativeHome site, admitted: ‘The sums don’t add up.’ – Daily Mail

• How will Reform UK pay for its pledges and policies? – The Times
• Farage’s policies would risk Truss-style mini-Budget market chaos, economists warn – The i

Comment

• Farage is right: families deserve fairer taxes – Daniel Herring CapX

News in Brief

• Labour are peddling the same old myths about housing – Henry Hill, CapX
• Sadiq Khan can’t win the war on drugs – Dominic Adler, Unherd
• Integration for the nation – Sebastian Milbank, The Critic
• Badenoch needs to be brutally honest with voters – Stephen Pollard, Spectator

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