Nearly halfway through L-day and no draft IHT legislation yet. I'm wondering whether we won't see anything at all today because waiting for the updated Centax report and re-thinking the idea (unlikely), or whether they're deliberately going to release it at 4:59 in the hope

On the reconstruction of OFWAT, it’s worth bearing in mind that a bureaucratic reshuffle will not automatically clear up the rivers. It will create a bright and shiny new bureaucracy who can blame everything on that last lot (even if it employs all the same people).

HMRC has released their "Transformation Roadmap", which reads as if James Murray watched a webinar on how AI will solve all the world's problems, and then he wrapped it in management speak. I'm still uncomfortable with taxpayers being referred to as "customers". It implies

On the #FamilyFarmTax, an 8 week technical consultation on the proposed legislation is now open, which closes on 15 September 2025 according to paras 90 and 91 of the Explanatory Note. Unlikely to lead to any changes, it's meant to just reflect tweaks to the draft legislation.

Published alongside the draft legislation for the family farm tax is the government's response to the technical consultation on trusts. Hidden in that is the response to many people's sensible proposal that, as with the nil rate bands, the allowance should be transferable

x.com/i/article/1947…

You could say that the Government's response to people raising concerns on food security is: "Let them eat cake...from abroad"

Omitting the impact on mental health and family cohesiveness from the Treasury’s assessment of this policy is a critical failure in the legislative process. Ignoring those aspects when the risks have been repeatedly stressed by professionals, industry bodies and politicians

As information is going around about the source of analysis for the proposed changes to inheritance tax, it's worth noting that previous Governments rejected it for good reasons. Current ministers decided to implement it, and that's where responsibility lies.

Trying to book a driving test for my son only to find that the UK practical driving test system has collapsed in a total failure of bureaucracy. The Minister for Transport Heidi Alexander MP should be ashamed.

Late night, early start, but worth the listen. Or use BBC Sounds I guess!

It’s really not complicated, is it? If you’re going to tax farmers so much they could lose their farm, maybe you should wait until you’ve actually increased their annual income rather than just planning to do it at some point in the future. Or even better, increase their income

🚨Bad actors posing as farmers are hijacking protests to undermine National Farmers' Union and derail progress in Parliament. 🚜 Farming is walking a tightrope - being linked with these people could tip us into disaster. 📖 Read more 👇 scribehound.com/countryside/li…

From now on, every pro-nature government measure will allocated based purely on a competitive bleep test combined with a detailed form-filling quiz, and subject to closure without notice. Capital Grants offer now closed for new applications defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2025/08/01/cap…

Whether it’s immigration or anti-money laundering, successive governments need to resist the siren call of bureaucrats that everything would be much better if only they had complete details of everywhere you go, everything you do and every penny you spend. Imposing