Labour denies another policy U-turn as £3bn big tech tax ruled out

Good morning. Labour’s gradual drip-feed of self-confessed U-turns and staunchly denied but reported climbdowns continues.

The Times suggests Labour has “abandoned” another proposal for government in the shape of a £3 billion tax raid on tech firms like Amazon and Facebook. Labour confirmed it has “no plans” to raise the digital services tax in government – but said it had only ever planned the hike, which it has repeatedly called for until as recently as April, as a “temporary measure” up to 2024.

The party still plans, and has always said it wants, a “fairer” tax system than business rates, to shift the burden from bricks-and-mortar stores to online giants, however. More details are promised ahead of the next election. There were reportedly industry fears too it may have sparked a trade dispute with the US government.

There is also pressure today on Labour over another apparent policy dial-down on banning new North Sea drilling, with the industry demanding clarity on whether new fields will be allowed if they already have licences.

Elsewhere, the party leadership faces a pincer movement urging it to back free school meals for all primary pupils – from some regional mayors, as per the Financial Times today, and trade unions, as per the Mirror on Friday. You won’t be surprised to read a National Education Union-backed poll found 89% of members back the plan. But as the FT’s Stephen Bush notes, there may be no “risk-free option” for Labour – risk the public fearing a tax bombshell, or risk them thinking “no government can fix the UK’s problems”.

With mortgage misery not entirely knocked off the news agenda by the latest events in Russia, Labour has released timely analysis suggesting new mortgages already cost over £2,000 more a year than in France. Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Pat McFadden says the figures “lay bare the cost of the Tory mortgage penalty”, the phrase you can expect to keep hearing Labour hammering home in the coming months On another note, McFadden’s powerful tribute piece for LabourList on the life and legacy of Margaret McDonagh, Labour’s first female general secretary, is well worth a read in case you missed it over the weekend.

McFadden himself served in the New Labour government, but The Times reports too that less experienced Labour frontbenchers are being given lessons in how to run the country by a “council of elders” who served in previous Labour governments as far back as the 1970s. Just a quarter of the most senior figures were MPs before Labour lost the 2010 election.

Meanwhile the paper also includes a long personal interview with Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting, promoting his memoir, One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up. He talks about his difficult upbringing inspiring his passion for social mobility, and the fact he can look like a “bull in a china shop” disrupting “professional vested interests”. Streeting also says he’s “not going to be lectured” on how to tackle poverty “by people who haven’t experienced it”.

The Health Minister, Helen Whately refused to commit to accepting the recommendations of public sector pay review bodies for next year.

Here’s what Labour’s Shadow Attorney General @EmilyThornberry had to say about the health minister’s comments.#KayBurley LH pic.twitter.com/KMDxFFnQcP

— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) June 26, 2023

In wider labour movement news, Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry had the morning Labour broadcast round, highlighting the absurdity of the government suggesting they may not accept public sector pay review bodies’ recommendations next year – when a few months ago they were insisting they had to follow the bodies’ views. The Telegraph reports separately that junior doctors could be offered a £1,000 payment to end what the British Medical Association called the “longest strike” in the history of the NHS, after more strike dates were announced on Friday.

As for what’s in the diary later today, Keir Starmer is due to appear at the India Global forum, to discuss, according to organisers, “his vision of the UK-India relationship” and “its wider geopolitical importance”.

Shadow arts minister Barbara Keeling will also make a speech later to promote Labour’s “high-quality arts, culture and creativity” agenda in schooling, slamming sharp declines in arts GCSE uptake and teacher numbers in recent years.

MPs will also debate several e-petitions on ultra-low emissions zones in Westminster Hall, which could prove awkward for Labour given Tory efforts to make the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election a ” referendum on ULEZ”.