Burnham offers 20% cut in business rates for pubs, clubs and live music in England – UK politics live

The prime minister said the £100m package would mean the typical pub would save around £1,100 in the next financial year

Good morning and welcome to the UK politics live blog.

Andy Burnham will cut business rate bills for pubs, clubs and live music venues in England by 20% from next April.

For too long, governments have stood by while cherished venues have disappeared from our local high streets. So today I am changing that.

This government will back the businesses that people want to see in their communities. I said I would protect pubs and local high streets – the beating heart of our communities – and that’s what we will do.

The new chancellor, John Healey, said the government would return to its commitment to overhaul the wider business rates system, including small business rates relief, at the budget.

Ministers also plan to crack down on businesses that sell through online marketplaces but do not comply with their tax obligations, putting them at an unfair advantage over those that do, and is consulting on measures to make those marketplaces more responsible for this.

Burnham announced that the government would cut VAT on electricity bills, reducing them by an average of £45 a year from October. This would be funded, officials said, by his decision to scrap the digital ID scheme.

The prime minister also announced he would reduce the fare cap from £3 a journey to £2 next year, funded mainly by changing international climate donations into repayable loans.

Burnham is immersed in a deepening political row after ordering a review of plans for the early release of thousands of killers, rapists and sex offenders from prison in September.

Victims of crime have accused ministers of making “cheap jokes” about releasing prisoners early after Wes Streeting and Shabana Mahmood were caught on camera “ribbing” about the scheme.

Scottish Labour’s rivals in Holyrood have slammed Anas Sarwar’s shock decision to resign as leader to sit in Andy Burnham’s new government, calling him a “chancer” and accusing him of lying to voters.

The Conservatives have asked HMRC to investigate whether Nigel Farage should have paid tax on the £5m gift he received from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.
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