6:51 am, June 8, 2024
Sunak vows to axe stamp duty after Mordaunt criticises his actions on D-Day
Prime minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to axe stamp duty for first-time buyers on homes up to £425,000.
The commitment comes after Penny Mordaunt branded the prime minister’s decision to leave the D-Day 80th anniversary events early as ‘completely wrong’. Mordaunt, a Navy reservist, said it was right that Sunak apologised not only to veterans but to the public, although she added the issue should not become “a political football”.
The Conservatives’ manifesto commitment to abolish stamp duty builds on a proposal from former prime minister Liz Truss’s Growth Commission. Stamp duty land tax currently applies to sales over £250,000, with the proposed change impacting 200,000 households every year, The Telegraph reported.
Nigel Farage won seven-party BBC debate, according to viewer poll
Reform UK’s Nigel Farage won the BBC’s seven-party BBC debate on Friday night, according to a snap viewer poll.
The line-up featured Penny Mordaunt, the Conservative Leader of the House of Commons, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner, Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth, Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer and Farage.
The poll, conducted by researchers More In Common, asked more than 1,000 viewers who won the debate with 25% of those surveyed opting for Mr Farage. Among those who voted Conservative in 2019, 47% placed the Reform leader at the top of the pile. Rayner was favoured by 19% of the respondents, while 14% said there was no winner. Just 7% of those surveyed said Mordaunt was the winner of the debate.
Search to resume for missing TV doctor Michael Mosley on Greek island
The search for missing TV doctor and columnist Michael Mosley is set to resume on the Greek island of Symi.
Emergency crews had paused the search at 8pm Greek time on Friday as dusk fell, but will recommence on Saturday morning in a bid to find the 67-year-old who vanished on Wednesday after setting off on a walk to the centre of the island.
Police and firefighters had been using drones to try to locate Mr Mosley, while divers and the local coast guard had joined rescue efforts, alongside local residents who were said to be using their own boats to find the British national.
Unite refuses to endorse Labour manifesto
One of the UK’s largest trade unions has declined to endorse the Labour election manifesto after accusing the party of weakening its package of workers’ rights.
Unite refused to give its backing to the final version of the policy document, which was signed off on at the party’s closed-doors Clause V meeting on Friday.
Sources told the PA news agency that Labour’s stance on practices like fire-and-rehire meant the affiliated union could not support its policy platform, raising questions about whether it will fund the party as the election looms.
Union urges junior doctors to accept pay offer from Welsh government
The British Medical Association (BMA) has recommended that junior doctors, specialist doctors and consultants accept new pay offers from the Welsh government.
Under the deals, junior doctors have been offered a 7.4% additional uplift, taking the total to a 12.4% uplift for 2023-24, which will be backdated to April last year.
A revised consultant pay scale has been proposed, providing higher career earnings, increased starting pay, and an additional pay rise of up to 10.1% for some consultant doctors.
Listen to this week’s Car Dealer Podcast
Jon Reay and Rebecca Chaplin are joined by Marketing Delivery’s Jeremy Evans this week, as they chat about Caffyns’ profits dropping, Fisker taking on new dealers and Chinese EVs. You can listen to the podcast on your favourite streaming services, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
China’s exports grow 7.6% in May, beating expectations despite trade tensions
China’s exports in May grew at their fastest pace in more than a year despite trade tensions, though imports fell short of analyst expectations, according to customs data.
Exports jumped 7.6% in May from the same month last year to 302.35 billion dollars (£236.5bn), rising at the fastest pace since April 2023.
Imports rose by 1.8% to 219.73 billion dollars (£171bn), missing estimates of about 4% growth. The uptick in exports is also partly due to a lower base in the same period last year, when exports declined 7.5%.
Friday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Struggling used car dealership fined for failing to identify driver suspected of driving offence
- Car dealer group Caffyns reports loss of more than £1.5m after being in profit the year before
- Consumer car finance new business value at point of sale tops £3.2bn for April
- Motors backs used hybrid and EV demand to grow as firm notices shift in buyer habits
- Grange Motors to open landmark £10m Aston Martin showroom in Shirley
- Drivers who supply parts to Rolls-Royce call off strike action after agreeing new pay deal
New Fiat 500 hybrid is in the works for production alongside electric version
Fiat has announced that big plans are in the works for one of its most successful models – the 500.
The new hybrid version, called the Ibrida, will be released between late 2025 and early 2026 and will be produced at the Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy. Produced alongside the electric 500e, it’s expected that this new-generation hybrid 500 will use the platform of its battery-powered stablemate.
The new model will be developed, designed and tested in Turin with Fiat investing €100m (circa £85m) to help improve the electric version even further with a new platform and next-generation battery technology to make it more affordable to customers.
Weather
Cloud and showers will clear the south early on and leave a day of sunny spells, reports BBC Weather. Further north, the sunny spells will be punctuated by blustery showers. Highs of 18 degrees – below average for this time of year.
Further cloudy and showers for the north tonight, while the south will have clear skies. A cool night.
