What experience of the Railway does Louise Haigh have?
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The Labour Party under Andy Burnham
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LNW-GW Joint
Veteran Member
Doesn't being Transport Secretary for a year count?
She also allegedly solved the then (2024) industrial relations issues on the railway by allowing an above-inflation pay deal (which seems to have been repeated with the recent Avanti drivers' deal).
Stossgebet
Member
That is scandolously incorrect. She didn't solve the dispute with "an above inflation paydeal".
That paydeal was about half the rate of inflation for the time period between 2019 and 2024, when it was resolved.
And if you are critical of the so called rise that has just been announced, which is level with RPI, then that further shoots your credibility. If you think a so called rise, that after income tax, is actually 40% below inflation, is something that should be a news story in any context other than neutral, then we know your biases are unpleasant.
What is very interesting about it though. Is that she was sacked very soon after that paydeal. And sacked not because of something done by rival political parties, but because of her fraud conviction, which was leaked in a way that could only have come from within the labour party (and/or its leadership), which could go someway to explain her new bff status with the new leader.
Wasn't really sacked more knifed in the back by her own side as the pay award wasn't prior agreed further up the chain.
No, not really.
Proposals for a no cap tourist tax, refusal to consider cutting welfare benefits to fund defence & confusions over longer term ramifications of the new Israel policy given it’s forthcoming elections, suggest Mr Burnham’s honeymoon period might be nearing its end.
I’ve no idea wether he’ll prove a good or bad PM just think its starting to look a bit more challenging.
I’ve no idea wether he’ll prove a good or bad PM just think its starting to look a bit more challenging.
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brad465
Veteran Member
How controversial is a tourist tax, given the UK would not be the first place to bring it in? I also don't think the unlimited rate is something to worry about; no-one with the power to implement it would set it so high that it deters tourism, while if a cap did exist, almost every authority would just implement the cap rate, similar to how almost every council puts council tax up 5% a year.
Having recently paid a tourist tax in Switzerland it was a little annoying, especially given how it was only something I learned of last minute, but it's hardly a dealbreaker to be honest. I think as long as you don't make it silly ridiculous it won't be too much of an issue in the UK, especially when property and hotel prices in London can feel quite punitive.
Agreed. 100%
But...
This is my issue with it.
I want to see the inclusive cost, pay it up front and be done with it.
I don't want to faff at check in, or - worse - at check out, when I thought I had already paid.
Italy can be atrocious for this.
One can only imagine the frustration of travelling to America where you have to consider a potential state and city/county level hotel tax along with the sales taxes you'd be paying at a till because it's not included in the price tags, and the calculations for tipping at restaurants and eateries.
I'm very much with you on paying the inclusive costs up front and being done with it. I didn't even mind paying the 58 francs, but given Switzerland isn't exactly cheap it would've been nice to be aware I might've been hit with a tourist tax beforehand.
Tetchytyke
Veteran Member
That sounds more like a retailer issue. I stayed in Basel over the summer and I was told in advance by the hotel that I would have to pay a tourist tax locally at the hotel and that the tourist tax gave me free use of public transport. I could even use the hotel booking email as my ticket on the bus from the airport.
I’ve stayed with IHG in Manchester and Liverpool recently and in both cases they were clear that there was a tourist tax to be paid locally at the hotel.
Taking money off the poorest people in society and giving it to BAe shareholders is an…interesting…thing to demand.
I’m always curious what people mean by “defence.” Do they mean increasing spending with the likes of QinetiQ, whose biggest single shareholder is the delightful chappie who gave Farage his five million quid?
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There are 12 other countries who have taken the same position at the same time. It seems this has been glossed over by the right wing media here.
The fact that our Foreign Secretary is Jewish has made it so that the usual caterwauling about anti-semitism doesn’t really stick. Ephraim Mirvis sticking his oar in to accuse a British Jewish politician of being anti-Semitic has simply made it even more obvious that he’s nothing other than a Likud shill.
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Yes, the way that it is done in France, where it must be paid upon check-in, is infuriating.
This always used to catch me out on trips to America especially as I generally prefer to spend in cash rather than card whilst there
'Ah great this item is $10 I've got a $10 note handy'
'That'll be $10.68 please!'
There’s a certain irony with tourist tax that many locations already make more per UK visitor than foreigners through gift aid paid out of income tax along with many major museums etc. funded centrally to enable free entry for every nationality.
Drogba11CFC
Member
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- 941
Seems to me as though Labour want to impose taxes on everything people enjoy. Wouldn't surprise me if they impose something like a football tax next.
Merle Haggard
Established Member
What will the tourist tax be charged on, I wonder? Presumably, from its name, events and organisations that attract people who 'tour'.
So quite likely charged on heritage railway fares.
It's not much of an extension for it to be charged on football admission charges.
No, that's not what a tourist tax is. It is a tax on hotel stays collected by hotels and passed on to the local government.
D6130
Established Member
Sssshhh....don't give them ideas! Rumour has it that at least one MP follows these forums.
Seriously though, they could do with increasing the tax on some of the top-flight footballers' earningsCharging a percentage rather than a fixed amount per night by star level is an interesting choice. I wonder if the UK Govt questioned why many other cities charge fixed amounts (rather than just assuming a percentage is better)?
It's not clear what the percentage is to be based on. If it's everything then it will feel very unfair to pay it on hotel restaurants and not all restaurants. If it's the pre-tax room rate then that's surprisingly opaque and an absolute can of worms.
You could have the same hotel with:
I would say the government saying it's a percentage to protect low income budget travellers seems disingenuous, the existing flat rate schemes accomplish that with ~€1 on the lowest hotel categories, a hotel night would need to be under £17 for 5% to be superior. It seems more about maximising the revenue from high-end hotel stays and nights with huge events going on.
It's not clear what the percentage is to be based on. If it's everything then it will feel very unfair to pay it on hotel restaurants and not all restaurants. If it's the pre-tax room rate then that's surprisingly opaque and an absolute can of worms.
You could have the same hotel with:
- An £80 room rate
- A £150 room rate that includes breakfast and parking
- A £30 room rate and an unbundled £50 destination fee
- A guest staying on a 15,000 Points redemption, where the room rate is zero
- A guest staying on a 5,000 Points redemption plus £50, where the hotel chain insists the £50 is not a room rate but a cash co-pay for the points
I would say the government saying it's a percentage to protect low income budget travellers seems disingenuous, the existing flat rate schemes accomplish that with ~€1 on the lowest hotel categories, a hotel night would need to be under £17 for 5% to be superior. It seems more about maximising the revenue from high-end hotel stays and nights with huge events going on.
Tetchytyke
Veteran Member
Footballers are employees and so they already pay lots and lots of tax, as do their employers. There is some scope for shenanigans with image rights (which isn't income from employment) but it is fairly limited and HMRC go over it with a fine-tooth comb. Otherwise, their income comes from employment.
Footballers are therefore usually on PAYE, at least for their basic wage and performance bonuses.
Why do you think tax-free Saudi Arabia is now so popular with professional footballers?
Points redemptions do have an underlying room rate, the points scheme administrator pays the hotel for the room. This room rate isn't publicly available (usually because the rate is very low- the chap behind Head for Points was accidentally given the wrong invoice once and saw the room rate was about £30) but the businesses apply a cash value to the redemption.
For points redemptions there are different ways of doing it, even with the same chain. At IHG the redemption is inclusive of the 5%+VAT tourist levy in Edinburgh but in Manchester and Liverpool the redemption is exclusive of the tourist levy, which is collected locally at check-in. It presumably suits them to do it this way so that in Edinburgh they don't have to reveal the underlying cash value of a redemption room. In cities with a flat rate they don't have this issue so can pass the cost on to the customer more easily.
For destination/resort fees it will depend on what you get for the fee and whether it is something you can opt out of. If you get sod all and you can't opt out of it then it'll presumbly be taxed.
With IHG, 99% of the time your account history shows how much the hotel got paid for a redemption, though it's not explicity described as such.
Typically it is a nominal value until the hotel is more than ~95% occupied, and then they get paid close to the rack rate. Lowest I've seen is £9 for a London hotel, while one of the Tokyo Intercontinentals got paid USD500 on a free night I had
Typically it is a nominal value until the hotel is more than ~95% occupied, and then they get paid close to the rack rate. Lowest I've seen is £9 for a London hotel, while one of the Tokyo Intercontinentals got paid USD500 on a free night I had
Drogba11CFC
Member
- Joined
- 15 Sep 2009
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- 941
It might be just me, but the new school meal rules come across as extremely joyless. No fish and chips, no fruit juice or squash, only one pudding a week, all pupils must have chickpeas or lentils once a week...it wouldn't surprise me if they keep taking anything popular off the menu.
D6130
Established Member
What? You don't know what you're missing! Two of the purest and healthiest forms of protein known to humankind....with the added bonus of being a great cure for - or prevention against - constipation!
m0ffy
Member
I can’t find any reference to pulses in the guidance, but I may be missing it. Overall, this feels like a positive move. Dietary needs have moved on since school meals were introduced and they don’t have to be the calorific anchor they were established to be. Funding, however, is where this will falter (that, and bringing back Jamie Olive Oil) - breakfast clubs are already funded well below sustainable levels and some LAs, like Leicestershire, are closing catering services for political reasons.
Regardless of what one thinks about the new school meal requirements, what do schools plan to do about children on packed lunches? Would they actively encourage teachers and staff to confiscate someone's KitKat or would they consider it not worth the hassle given it's a parental decision outside the school's control?
You'd be surprised. Kids now have much wider palates than in my day and that's a good thing. My 17 month old goes to nursery and her lunches over the last 5 days have been:
Savoury mince with vegetables, mixed beans and new potatoes
Mozzarella and cherry tomato pasta with spinach
Chicken and vegetables in a basil and tomato sauce with couscous
Pepper quiche with herbed potatoes, peas and onions
Mild vegetarian curry with rice and mini naan
And she eats all of it. Kids don't have a concept of joyless food, most of them really like a wide range of it if you let them try it early and eat appropriate "adult" meals at the table with you. I would never have thought a toddler would like floured basa fillets or stroganoff or turkey mince curry but you learn something new every day! When I was at school I had chips and beans most days with something like a turkey twizzler or breaded chicken or dalesteak. It's not great to be honest, I wish I'd have been weaned on what my kid is getting now!
I think this has a habit of dying off a little later on.
Our 8 year old niece used to eat everything you put in front of her when she was 2. I know, because I made her everything from butternut squash risotto to lamb madras. But more recently she has developed a habit of saying, "It's too spicy.", even when it's a creamy korma or some fajitas. We believe this has come from her grandma, who she has lived with for quite a while at times, and is someone who considers a korma or fajitas to be spicy. She's also started saying she doesn't like tomatoes when she would previously eat plum toms like grapes, which we suspect is similarly because her grandma doesn't like tomatoes.
I am sure that in the future she will come back to these foods and enjoy them but it has been a bit of a journey.
I do however applaud schools which serve up diverse menus. I know Jamie Oliver got a lot of flack for turkey twizzlers but I think he was onto something trying to change the nutrition of school dinners. The UK has an obesity crisis and by the time people get to adulthood it is often really difficult to change diets and eating habits. So I applaud the government for their new school food standards.