Whatever one’s view on the gifts of clothes to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his wife — as well as other senior party officials — in a recent television interview the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, stated that they were “part of the job” (“Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves declared clothing donations as office support”, Report, FT.com, September 20).
That being the case, they are “taxable benefits” and no doubt the prime minister and other beneficiaries will be making the appropriate declarations in their tax return.
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Good morning. News to start: European embassies in London are lobbying the UK government to exempt international schools from the incoming 20 per cent VAT charge on private education, arguing that British independent schools on the continent aren’t similarly taxed.
Today, our competition and energy correspondents hear arguments for and against an EU combustion engine ban from Uber and Italy. And our Rome team reports on an initiative to make Italian citizenship more easily accessible.
Car crash
Uber has called on the EU to partially advance its 2035 combustion engine ban, one day ahead of a crucial EU industry ministers meeting where the topic is sure to surface, write Javier Espinoza and Alice Hancock.
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To speed up electrification, Anabel Díaz, head of Uber’s mobility division in Europe, urged Brussels to set more aggressive targets for the take-up of electric vehicles.
Context: Other players in the car industry have called for a delay to the landmark ban on new combustion engines from 2035, amid falling sales of vehicles and a slow uptake of expensive electric cars.
But according to Uber, the European Commission should set “more aggressive binding targets” to electrify corporate fleets, including ride hailing platforms such as Uber’s, Díaz told the FT.
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New combustion engines should be banned for business customers from 2030, she said, and corporate fleets should be “100 per cent electric cars by 2035 at the latest”.
Uber’s call sets it in opposition to car manufacturers who have complained that stricter emissions targets coming into force next year will cost them billions of euros in fines.
The commission is currently considering additional measures to green corporate cars, which account for around 60 per cent of the EU’s total fleet, and had asked companies for input.
Diaz said a move to full electric fleets “liberates the environmental benefits of electrification where they are most impactful, because of the high utilisation rate of the corporate fleets”.
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She added that electrifying corporate cars would “pave the way for the broader mass transition to electric personal vehicles”.
More than 500,000 Italians have signed a petition asking to ease the country’s restrictive citizenship rules — the first step in a process that could lead to a national referendum on the issue, write Amy Kazmin and Giuliana Ricozzi.
Context: Italians have been fiercely debating the path to citizenship for children who were born in Italy to immigrant parents and who are considered “foreigners” despite having been brought up and educated in the country.
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Italy’s current citizenship law, which was adopted in 1992, requires immigrants to live in the country legally for at least a decade to be eligible to apply for citizenship.
Members of the small centrist party Più Europa (More Europe) now want to hold a national referendum on restoring an older set of rules, which previously allowed foreigners to apply for Italian citizenship after just five years of legal residence.
The petition yesterday achieved the 500,000 signatures required for a review by the constitutional court, who will now scrutinise the proposed referendum to determine whether it can go ahead.
“Citizens have shown that when parliament cannot find the courage to change unjust laws, they can mobilise and do it themselves,” Più Europa wrote in a post on X. “Those who chose Italy to live, study, love and grow up, who imagine their future in our country, are Italian.”
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The fate of this dream — and an estimated 2.5mn people, including adults and children, who could be allowed to apply for citizenship immediately with such a change — now lies in the hands of 15 constitutional court judges.
What to watch today
French President Emmanuel Macron to visit Canada
EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell participates in a G20 foreign affairs ministers meeting in New York.
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“I THINK the rhetoric so far has been quite downbeat, so it is important to sell an optimistic, bold vision.
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READ MORE ON RACHEL REEVES
Labour is in a tight spot of being squeezed on the left and the right of the part.
But they do need to give a sense of ambition and it’s good they did that.
The industrial strategy is important because we absolutely need a joined-up, well-thought-out strategy, almost like Harold Wilson’s “white heat of technology” speech 60 years ago.
We need something we can sell and get behind to be confident and ambitious about.
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An industrial strategy shouldn’t just focus on the big shiny stuff, it should focus on the politics of ordinary life, be that the buses, high street or connectivity, things that are essential to the everyday. Investment is critically needed.
It was encouraging that the Chancellor came back to business rates a few times in quite clear language that the system is broken and needs reform.
Moment heckler is dragged from Labour Party conference
Now it needs to move to reality to protect the high street and jobs.”
MIKE RAYBOULD
CEO, Portmeirion homeware
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“IF Reeves and the Government are serious about ‘building Britain together’, they need to value manufacturing and the jobs and communities it supports.
Government must play a critical support role for firms by creating a low-tax, high-investment economy.”
ROWAN CROZIER
CEO, Brandauer metal-stamping
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“AN industrial strategy is long overdue. The Chancellor’s focus on it is a welcome first step forward.
The country is seeing severe constipation over investment decisions due to the current negativity the Government is pushing and the uncertainty this creates.”
“OUR Chancellor is right when she says investment is the key to boosting UK growth.
These ambitions require the contribution of every part of Britain. There is so much potential in the UK.
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I am optimistic we will succeed and grow together.”
ROMI SAVOVA
CEO, pension provider PensionBee
“MESSAGES encouraging growth are welcome, especially in tech and science.
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My industry is holding its breath for initiatives to use money in pension funds to unleash investment.
Details of the Budget cannot come soon enough to quell savers’ nerves.”
NEIL STEVENS
CEO, fintech firm Fintel
“LABOUR’S manifesto promised hope and since then we had got the opposite so yesterday was a welcome shift.
London’s junior stock market has to be supported, either by encouraging pension funds to invest more or to give more incentives to invest.”
NIMISHA RAJA MBE
Founder, Nim’s fruit & veg crisps
“REEVES has been complaining about the ‘black hole’ in the economy. The first rule of business… work with the cards you are dealt.
The Industrial Strategy is important but it must not overlook the needs of small business.”
JOHN ROBERTS
CEO, electrical retailer AO World
“WHAT we really need is to stop the waste and not just keep raising taxes.
Creating the right reward-for-risk ratio is critical to inspire investment.
There are lots of warm words but very little that I’ve seen in the way of an actual plan to make it happen.”
OZ FIRM’S MOVE No3
RIGHTMOVE will “carefully consider” a £6.1billion takeover approach from Australia’s REA Group after rejecting two previous offers.
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The sweetened price of 770p-a-share is a 39 per cent premium to the property site’s share price before the takeover approach was made public.
REA Group is majority-owned by News Corp, which is the ultimate owner of The Sun. Its chief executive Owen Wilson said: “We are genuinely disappointed at the lack of engagement by Rightmove’s board.”
Rightmove shares edged up by just 0.77 per cent to 679.6p.
TRAINING AID BY BT
BT is setting up a £4million fund to help small firms and charities launch up to 550 apprenticeships.
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The telecom giant is using £4million of its own unspent apprenticeship levy to team up with apprentice-provider Babington over four years.
It is the latest big company to come up with its own answer to the Government’s apprenticeship levy, which requires bigger firms to set aside 0.5 per cent of annual payroll. But firms argue the schemes are too narrow and as a result £2.2billion in unspent funding has gone back to the Treasury since the levy began.
DUNELMCASH-IN
DUNELM’S deputy chairman has cashed in on the home retailer’s recent growth and sold £123million of shares.
Will Adderley, whose parents founded the firm, last night sold 10million shares, which is equivalent to 4.9 per cent of the entire company.
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Mr Adderley still owns around a third of the business and said he remained “fully committed” to it.
Dunelm has shot up to a valuation of £2.5billion, shrugging off a tough market. Its success came after profits at the start of the month turned out to be better than expected.
The union representing thousands of striking Boeing workers says a survey of its members shows they are “not interested” in the aviation giant’s latest pay offer.
“Many comments expressed that the offer was inadequate,” the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) said in a post on X.
It comes after Boeing made a new offer earlier this week to striking workers, which proposed a 30% pay rise over four years.
BBC News has requested a statement from Boeing in response to the IAM announcement.
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“The survey results from yesterday were overwhelmingly clear, almost as loud as the first offer: members are not interested in the company’s latest offer that was sent through the media,” the IAM post said.
On Monday, Boeing made what it called its “best and final” pay offer, which included the reinstatement of a performance bonus, improved retirement benefits and a doubling of the value of a one-off bonus for signing a new pay deal to $6,000 (£4,470).
The company said the offer was dependent on it being ratified by union members by midnight pacific time on Friday 27 September (7:00 GMT on Saturday 28 September).
However, IAM said Boeing had sent the new offer directly to union members and the media without telling the union’s representatives.
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It also said the company’s deadline did not give it enough time to organise a vote by its members.
Boeing denied that it had not informed IAM representatives about the offer, and said it would give the union more time and logistical support to ballot its members.
More than 30,000 Boeing workers have been on strike since 13 September after rejecting a 25% pay rise offer.
Union members – who produce planes including the 737 Max and 777 – voted overwhelmingly to reject the offer and back strike action until a new agreement could be reached.
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IAM had initially aimed for a number of improvements to workers’ packages, including a 40% pay rise.
The strike threatens to cost Boeing billions of dollars, deepening the crisis at a company already facing significant challenges.
The company has already suspended the jobs of tens of thousands of staff.
BARGAIN supermarket Aldi is selling an incredible dog-friendly product perfect for the chilly autumn weather.
The item is being sold as part of the supermarket’s Specialbuy range later this week with it prices set to start from just £7.99.
The reversible dog bomber coats could be top sellers as we head into winter, with owners looking to keep their beloved pooches warm.
They come in two different colour schemes of either navy and red or green and yellow.
They also come in a range of sizes so they are perfect for dogs from Dachshunds to Labradors.
The smallest size measures in at 38cm by 33cm by 55cm with the jackets costing just £7.99.
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They go all the way up to an extra large which costs only slightly more at £9.99.
Aldi describe the coat as “streetwear for your four-legged friend”.
The listing on their website reads: “Keep your four-legged friend warm and cosy in this Reversible XS-M Dog Bomber Jacket.
“With a velcro closure underneath, this jacket can be easily removed and adjusted for comfort.
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“The reversible colours mean your dog can strut their stuff in style around the block as the weather gets colder.
“Your dog will love heading outdoors in this padded puffer jacket.”
I’m the Dogfather – here’s how to get and keep your anxious pooch calm during the autumn thunderstorm..
Shoppers who are looking to buy their pups a very early Christmas gift will have to wait a few more days to finally bag them up however with Aldi only putting them up on shelves on Thursday.
They will be released alongside a whole host of other animal products as part of their massive Pet Event.
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Everything from bedding, food, toys and storage products are being sold with everything coming in at under £25.
Extra large comfy pet beds are the priciest of the 43 items on offer at £24.99.
Cat toys and bird friendly snacks feeders are the cheapest at less than £2.
They even have savings on the big brands such as Dreamies cat snacks, Wagg doggy treats and Pedigree and Whiskas classics.
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Aldi Specialbuys are a unique and fantastic offering from the supermarket.
For a full run down of the best they have to offer check out this article.
Dairyfine Pots of Choc, Aldi’s version of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Pots of Joy, are described as a “smooth and creamy dessert”.
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Other shoppers were going wild for a middle-aisle find that’s scanning at tills for as little as 99p.
The Kids Camping Chair – shaped like a fox – was already massively reduced at just £4.99 but one lucky shopper managed to bag one up for under a pound.
You can find your nearest Aldi store by using the retailer’s store locator tool on its website.
Remember it is always best to shop around to try and spot which shop has the best deal on any particular product.
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When’s the best time to shop at Aldi?
WHEN it comes to shopping at Aldi, the best time to do so depends on what you want to buy.
For reduced items – when shops open
Red sticker items are rare at Aldi’s 830 UK stores, but the supermarket says that none of its food goes to waste so there are some to be found – if you’re quick.
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A spokesman for the supermarket said: “All items are reduced to 50 per cent of the recommend sales price before stores open on their best before or use by dates.”
That means you have the best chance of finding reduced food items if you go into stores as soon as it opens.
Opening times vary by shop but a majority open from 7am or 8am. You can find your nearest store’s times by using the supermarket’s online shop finder tool.
For Specialbuys – Thursdays and Sundays
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Specialbuys are Aldi’s weekly collection of items that it doesn’t normally sell, which can range from pizza ovens to power tools.
New stock comes into stores every Thursday and Sunday, so naturally, these are the best days to visit for the best one-off special deals.
For an even better chance of bagging the best items, head there for your local store’s opening time.
You don’t have to head into stores to bag a Specialbuy, though.
So these are the arcane rules for now and the candidates play the game. It is unlikely, however, that the founding fathers considered the deep maths involved.
Electoral game theory
In a short paper in 1921, the French mathematician and politician Émile Borel introduced the rudiments of what would a century later become the game you have just played. In Borel’s version, “each player arranges the numbers he has chosen in a determined order” and wins “if the numbers chosen by him are superior to the corresponding numbers” chosen by his opponent. If a majority of a player’s numbers are higher, they win. This is the mathematical skeleton of a political campaign.
Borel recognised the wider applications of this simple structure, writing that “the art of war or of economic and financial speculation are not without analogy to the problems concerning games”.
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“The art of play,” Borel continued, “depends on psychology and not on mathematics.” But there is plenty of mathematics, too. In the field of game theory, this sort of competition became a canonical object of study, known as the Colonel Blotto game. In 1950, a germinal paper from the military think-tank now called the Rand Corporation described a “continuous Colonel Blotto game” and the strategies of “the wily Blotto” facing his “enemy”.
The fictional colonel is in charge of an army of troops, as is his opponent, which he has to distribute across some number of battlefields. Whoever is victorious on more battlefields wins the war. Real-world situations, including research and development, patent races, strategic hiring, auctions and, of course, elections have been examined through Blotto games.
Solutions to these games — what game theorists call equilibria — are maddeningly difficult to find. They involve complex “mixed strategies”, randomising across intricate plans so that your opponent cannot outguess you. In this sense, presidential campaigns can be thought of as incredibly rich versions of rock, paper, scissors.
A 2006 paper by a trio of political scientists was among the first to “appreciate the problem posed by the Electoral College and its Colonel Blotto game-like structure” — they argue, for example, that Gore’s hairbreadth loss to Bush in 2000 was due to mistakes in his Blotto strategy. A 2014 paper by two economists spends 20 pages on Blotto maths before concluding that more work would yield “insights into more complicated variants of the game, which may be more representative of real military, political or other environments”.
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For now, your campaigning may reveal some glimpses of strategic insight into the political environment. And the real game will be decided on November 5, when Americans — and especially Arizonans, Georgians, Michiganders, Nevadans, North Carolinians, Pennsylvanians and Wisconsinites — go to the polls.
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