Exclusive: 13 mainly northern MPs say a new system should better account for higher house prices in south-east More than a dozen Labour MPs have written to Rachel Reeves calling on her to scrap council tax, as the chancellor faces mounting pressure to overhaul Great Britain’s property taxes in next month’s budget. Thirteen MPs, mainly from seats in northern England, wrote to Reeves last month asking her to abolish the tax and replace it with another system that better accounts for the steep rise in house prices in London and the south-east over the last 35 years. Continue reading...

Chancellor promises biggest investment in social and affordable homes in a generation to hit 1.5m target

A bill moving through Parliament this year provides a perfect opportunity to give people seeking asylum the right to work – if only the government would see sense

Editorial: The EU is expected to push for special youth visas as next month’s summit. Sir Keir Starmer should say yes

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The Cabinet Office instructs departments and their agencies to freeze almost all of around 20,000 Government Procurement Cards as part of plans to cut spending

Malcolm Rifkind joins diplomats and analysts urging focus on European cooperation to replace Trident

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