Reform, and the death of the Tory Party

[briantrumpet]

Re Tice's tax: probably boring. But as Neidle says, if you're going to play this game, you need to get it right.

https://skywriter.blue/@danneidle.bsky.social/3mjelbnyfwl2v

Mr Tice's line: a mere technicality and HMRC isn't out of pocket. It is, however, more than that: Mr Tice obtained an unlawful tax benefit – tax was paid up to 21 months late. And Mr Tice’s payment didn’t fix the company’s failure to withhold tax – the tax remains due. (Is this an unfair result? It could be in the case of a normal REIT. But this was a REIT driven solely by tax considerations - Mr Tice has all but admitted that. When you play tax avoidance games, you need to stick to the letter of the law. If you don't, you win tax prizes)

 

[CXRAndy]

We've just done some tax planning. The tax payable will be nearly two years from now.

Nothing unusual about timescales

 

[TailWindHome]

We've just done some tax planning. The tax payable will be nearly two years from now.

Nothing unusual about timescales

So long as you haven't been careless

 

[CXRAndy]

So long as you haven't been careless

My advisers take care of that

 

[PurplePenguin]

Re Tice's tax: probably boring. But as Neidle says, if you're going to play this game, you need to get it right.

https://skywriter.blue/@danneidle.bsky.social/3mjelbnyfwl2v

Mr Tice's line: a mere technicality and HMRC isn't out of pocket. It is, however, more than that: Mr Tice obtained an unlawful tax benefit – tax was paid up to 21 months late. And Mr Tice’s payment didn’t fix the company’s failure to withhold tax – the tax remains due. (Is this an unfair result? It could be in the case of a normal REIT. But this was a REIT driven solely by tax considerations - Mr Tice has all but admitted that. When you play tax avoidance games, you need to stick to the letter of the law. If you don't, you win tax prizes)

The 21 months late assumes that an entire year's property income was received on 6th April and that he wasn't paying on account.

Failing to pay withholding tax is clearly an error especially if it has gone to an offshore account, but getting excited over the timing is typical of his sensationalism. HMRC just charges interest when it is corrected. I had the pleasure of paying some recently due to my carelessness, and I'm pretty thorough.

I commented on a previous article of his pointing out a material error in his calculations. The article remains.

My suspicion is that he is not so good on personal taxation.

 

[Dorset Boy]

The 21 months late assumes that an entire year's property income was received on 6th April and that he wasn't paying on account.

Failing to pay withholding tax is clearly an error especially if it has gone to an offshore account, but getting excited over the timing is typical of his sensationalism. HMRC just charges interest when it is corrected. I had the pleasure of paying some recently due to my carelessness, and I'm pretty thorough.

I commented on a previous article of his pointing out a material error in his calculations. The article remains.

My suspicion is that he is not so good on personal taxation.

You and your facts....

 

[briantrumpet]

The 21 months late assumes that an entire year's property income was received on 6th April and that he wasn't paying on account.

Failing to pay withholding tax is clearly an error especially if it has gone to an offshore account, but getting excited over the timing is typical of his sensationalism. HMRC just charges interest when it is corrected. I had the pleasure of paying some recently due to my carelessness, and I'm pretty thorough.

I commented on a previous article of his pointing out a material error in his calculations. The article remains.

My suspicion is that he is not so good on personal taxation.

All of which is probably fair, but if it's simply clarified, then it would seem to be wise if Tice simply provided the requested clarification. Sure, Neidle might be a bore and a PITA, but Tice has invited scrutiny by his political position and quick criticism of others' errors, which he very vociferously considered resigning matters.

 

[icowden]

probably one for the good news thread but...

Reform UK's energy prize winners, Wigan-based Raymond and June Dibble "are the very same couple who nominated Lee Moffitt to become the Wigan branch chair of Reform UK." Moffitt appears in the publicity video posted by Farage of their miraculous win. Fancy that! bylinetimes.com/2026/04/13/r....

Reform UK Energy Prize Winners Had Nominated Party's Own Branch Chair
As Greater Manchester Police confirm they are reviewing a complaint into the prize draw, Byline Times can reveal that the party's Wigan branch chair – nominated by the

 

[Pross]

I thought it was a bizarre advert for castration services at first.

 

[UglyWithaSidePart]

And GMP are investigating 😂

 

[laurentian]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd9vgw2g3w2o

 

[Shortfall]

Just checking in on this thread to see if anyone knows if Labour's commitment to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament is still on track? This post may contain sarcasm

 

[Beebo]

Just checking in on this thread to see if anyone knows if Labour's commitment to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament is still on track? This post may contain sarcasm

I don’t think they ever really believed they would manage it. It was just a statement of intent. A bit silly really.
We all know it will never happen.

 

[icowden]

Just checking in on this thread to see if anyone knows if Labour's commitment to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament is still on track? This post may contain sarcasm

The Full Fact Electoral Promise Tracker suggests that the pledge is off track, but Labour have stated that they are working to change planning rules, as it's the planning process which is slowing things down. They anticipate an uptick, but are not clear on when.

That said, it's a target that usually fails. Wilson pledged 500k homes a year and failed (he got close though), in 2014-15 the conservatives promised 200,000 starter homes but none got built. More were built when the Government was building them rather than developers.

Both Boris and Sadiq promised housing targets for building in London and failed. May and Johnson promised 300k homes per year but managed 184k.

Starmer is on track to deliver between 500k and 800k houses at the moment.

In the 1950s and 60s, governments hit housing targets because it was the builder. Post-war governments prioritised land acquisition, new towns, and upfront infrastructure investment. By contrast, modern planning systems are fragmented, slow, and overly reliant on Section 106 deals to fund infrastructure after the fact. Whilst setting targets is politically popular, without funding, planning reform, and delivery capacity, they remain aspirational.

 

[CXRAndy]

the pledge is off track

Every labour policy if off track, infact, their whole governance is a