A self-proclaimed ‘binfluencer’ has issued a warning to all UK residents about dustbin collection times, mocking those who leave it until after 6am to put their rubbish out
A refuse collector has delivered a stark warning to anyone putting their wheelie bin out after 6am. Self-proclaimed ‘binfluencer’ Ashley has taken to TikTok to poke fun at those who regularly forget to put their bin out the nigher before a collection.
Advertisement
He’s frequently spotted them dashing down the street in their dressing gowns, desperately chasing after the dustbin lorry. In a spoof clip ridiculing these homeowners, he cried: “Come back!” This mirrors the situation countless people have experienced as the bin wagon vanishes around the corner.
To avoid this nightmare, Ashley has some straight-talking guidance.
“Ensuring your bins are put out on the correct day is essential for waste management and recycling services,” his clip noted.
Content cannot be displayed without consent
“Many local authorities have specific schedules that residents should adhere to. Understanding your bin day helps prevent overflowing bins and missed collections. This ensures your waste is processed on time and contributes to cleaner communities.”
Advertisement
Even if you rise at the break of day, there’s still a chance refuse collectors will drive past without taking your rubbish.
Ashley drove home his message by miming along to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. To anyone racing out with their bins at 6am, he cautioned: “It’s too late, my time has come.”
In the caption, the binman also made clear: “You need to make sure you put your bins out on time.”
Ashley’s clip racked up hundreds of likes, with viewers clearly enjoying his wit. One commenter said: “Good one.” Another wrote: “Too funny.” And a third added: “You really do make my day.”
Advertisement
While Ashley’s video might come across as a touch blunt, it does carry some genuinely useful advice worth bearing in mind.
If you leave putting your bins out until 6am, you’re far more likely to miss the collection (or cause yourself unnecessary headaches), as most councils schedule their crews to start early and they can reach your street shortly after dawn.
On top of that, leaving it to the eleventh hour raises the risk of oversleeping or getting side tracked and missing the collection altogether.
From a common courtesy standpoint, it’s also wise to avoid creating a racket at the crack of dawn. Wheeling bins across the pavement, slamming lids shut, and bottles rattling in the recycling are all guaranteed to wind up neighbours still trying to get some kip.
Advertisement
So for your own peace of mind, as well as that of your local bin collectors and neighbours, get yourself organised and put your rubbish out the night before!
Stuart May, aged 82, was unmasked as a paedophile in 2023 before being convicted of further sex offences against boys in the 1970s
Carl Jackson Court Reporter and Ted Peskett News Editor
21:43, 19 Jun 2026
Advertisement
A paedophile ex-scout leader had his jail time doubled for new offences after describing prison as ‘hell’. Stuart May committed a strong of offences against multiple boys in the 1970s the when he was a scout leader in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, preying upon his victims in his car, on trips and the scout hut.
May was exposed as a child sex predator in 2023 and admitted to 11 offences in relation to four boys before he was sentenced to eight years and nine months in prison.
Since then three more victims have come forward. And even though May, now 82, confessed his previous crimes he put the latest complainants through the ordeal of a trial. Stay in the know by making sure you’re receiving our daily newsletter
Ultimately they were vindicated and a jury found May guilty of six charges of indecent assault on a male and two counts of indecency with a child.
Advertisement
Some of the sexual attacks took place at his home and others in his scout office and at a public swimming pool, reports Birmingham Live.
At Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday, June 18 he was sentenced to another eight years, to run consecutively to his previous term.
May, most recently of Leicestershire, had been expecting to be moved to an open prison ahead of a possible release in November next year but that has now been quashed.
One of the victims, who was the subject of five of the latest offences, said May had ‘destroyed so many young lives’.
Advertisement
He recalled blaming himself for the abuse he was subjected to and prayed every day because he was from a religious family and feared he would go to hell.
He told May that after he was gone he would be remembered in the ‘most horrific form’ as a child abuser and paedophile.
Peter Glenser, prosecuting, said May had groomed the boys and abused his position of trust.
Describing May’s demeanour at trial he added: “He expressed precious little insight into his offending and into the devastation he has reaped on the lives of young children.”
Advertisement
Sharon Bailey, defending, confirmed May was married but told the court both he and his wife were fortunate to have no serious health issues at present.
She said: “He is painfully aware his wife has been left on her own and he is painfully aware the sentence passed today may mean he never leaves custody.”
The barrister added: “Serving a prison sentence at his time of life has been particularly difficult. He was fortunate in two of the prisons he has been kept in, they had particular facilities for people of his age.
“At the moment he is in HMP Birmingham. He describes that experience as ‘nothing short of hell’.”
Advertisement
Ms Bailey concluded that May last offended in 1977.
Judge Roderick Henderson, passing sentence, told him: “This is the most obvious case of grooming and abuse of a position as a scout master who was trusted in the community.
“It was made worse by manipulating those boys to keep quiet, telling them they would be in trouble if they let anyone know what you had done to them.”
He added: “You told a lot of lies in this trial.
Advertisement
“One thing you did say that I have no doubt was true, was that between then and now you didn’t give those boys much thought at all until the chickens came home to roost.”
Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here. We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice
“For Nigel Farage, the Makerfield result is crushing. His party’s senior leadership expected to be the story of the night. Instead, it fell more than 9,000 votes short and was relegated to a footnote”
21:32, 19 Jun 2026Updated 21:33, 19 Jun 2026
Andy Burnham’s win in Makerfield was not protest noise. It was proof that voters still have not given up hope that Labour can deliver the change they were promised.
Crucially, they did not turn to Reform in frustration. Instead, they turned out in greater numbers and backed Labour to finish the job. That is renewal, not rejection.
For Nigel Farage, the Makerfield result is crushing. His party’s senior leadership expected to be the story of the night. Instead, it fell more than 9,000 votes short and was relegated to a footnote.
Advertisement
But Labour cannot simply celebrate. The result has forced a timetable onto a choice it can no longer avoid.
Sir Keir Starmer says he will not walk away, but that cannot shield him from the urgency of this message. The question is not whether Labour needs a new face. It is who charts its new and faster course.
Drift and denial are no longer options for Labour. For now, trust has been renewed. It will, however, not survive further months of inaction.
Please, think twice
Britain could face its hottest June day on record next week, with temperatures forecast to hit 34C. As the heat builds, so will the temptation for youngsters to cool off in rivers, lakes and reservoirs.
Advertisement
One of our Save Lives for Sam campaign messages is a simple plea: please, think twice. Cold water can kill within minutes, whatever the temperature and however strong a swimmer you believe yourself to be.
Last month’s heatwave claimed 19 lives, including 13 children. That is exactly why we launched our fight, and why the Mirror will keep going until every young person understands the danger.
We urge ministers to bring campaigners, experts and families together before the school holidays begin, when most of these needless losses happen.
Every drowning is a tragedy. Almost every one can be prevented.
Advertisement
Kick in the teeth
World Cup fever is high, and the Premier League fixtures are now out, so fans are daring to dream again.
But as clubs bank huge TV riches and players earn millions, season ticket rises are a kick in the teeth.
As clubs grow richer and players earn more, they must remember supporters hit by the cost of living. Loyalty should not be exploited.
What has Achraf Hakimi been accused of hours before Scotland v Morocco? | Wales Online
Scotland v Morocco has been overshadowed by news about PSG player Achraf Hakimi
Advertisement
Achraf Hakimi accustation and bombshell news hours before Scotland v Morocco
Scotland face Morocco in a pivotal World Cup Group C match, knowing a positive result could move Steve Clarke’s side closer to the knockout stages.
The build-up to the game has been dominated by news involving Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi, one of the tournament’s highest-profile players.
Hakimi is set to stand trial in France over a rape allegation dating back to 2023, following a ruling by a French Court of Appeal.
The 27-year-old has consistently denied the allegations against him, and has publicly maintained his innocence throughout the legal process.
No trial date has yet been set, with reports indicating proceedings are expected to take place after Morocco’s World Cup campaign has concluded.
Despite the legal developments, Hakimi remains with the Morocco squad and is expected to continue captaining the team at the tournament.
The defender is regarded as one of Morocco’s key players, with Scotland manager Steve Clarke describing the North Africans as one of the strongest teams in the competition and potentially even better than the side that reached the 2022 World Cup semi-finals.
Scotland head into the match after beating Haiti 1-0 in their opener, while Morocco impressed in a 1-1 draw with Brazil, setting up a potentially decisive contest in the battle to qualify from Group C.
Rob Kenyon, Reform UK’s candidate in the Makerfield by-election, has spoken out publically for the first time since the result was declared, saying: “The campaign is over, but the movement isn’t.”
Mr Kenyon – dubbed by Reform as the ‘plucky plumber – thanked all those who had voted for him, and volunteers who gave up their time to support him in the race for the constituency.
The by-election was billed in advance as a straight fight between Labour candidate Any Burnham and Mr Kenyon, who welcomed Nigel Farage to Makerfield in the build-up.
The new Labour MP polled 54 per cent of the total vote, receiving 24,927 votes.
Reform’s candidate, Rob Kenyon, came next with 15,696 – 34 per cent of vote share. Restore’s Rebecca Shepherd, in third place, won 3,111 votes, a share of six per cent.
Advertisement
It means Mr Burnham holds a majority of 9,231 in the constituency.
In a video statement posted to Facebook and X on Friday night, Mr Kenyon said: “Thank you to the 15,695 voters in Makerfield who placed their faith in me on Thursday and voted for me – so thank you very much.
“Massive thank you to everyone at Reform UK who’s really supported me through this campaign. You all know who you are. You all know, you know, how much support you have given me so thank you. It means a massive, massive amount to me.
Advertisement
Content cannot be displayed without consent
“And a big thank you to all the volunteers who have come and helped out. Some people were coming almost daily. You all know who you are.
“I loved meeting you all. Keep in touch. It’s been fantastic. If I can help you out in any way, I will do. Thank you to my friends and family. You have been really supportive throughout this campaign.
“The campaign is over, but the movement isn’t. We are going to keep fighting and keep this momentum up so we can take our country back.
The train crash outside Bedford appears to have been a “relatively slow speed collision”, a rail expert has said.
Tony Miles told Sky News the damage to the trains looked “fairly minimal”.
He said: “Obviously it’s a rear end collision, they were going in the same direction, so one of them, the rear one was going faster than the one it’s caught up with, for some reason. That’s not a complicated assumption.
An aerial view of the crash scene
Advertisement
“So, the question has to be how has that train that’s in the rear got into contact with the train that it was following, and obviously it’s either gone past the signal that was telling it it should stop, or the signal was faulty, or the driver’s made a mistake in some way, or didn’t read the signal, or something.
“Over the years, all of those different scenarios have happened, and it’s now a question of finding out why did one train catch up with the train that was in front of it, that was obviously going more slowly. Whether it was stopped. I don’t know, but I say from the collision damage it looked like a relatively low speed collision.
A train is believed to have driven into the back of the other(Image: Bav Media)
“So either the train in the rear was already slowing down or they were both going fairly slowly, and something’s happened, but it’s not a high speed crash, certainly from the damage.”
He added: “Even if you’re going 40 miles an hour and you come to a halt in a few meters, you’ve got the energy of a 40-mile-an-hour body in you, and you’re going to move until you hit something, unfortunately. So, even relatively low speed collisions can be dangerous for people that are on board.”
Advertisement
The two trains were heading towards London St Pancras(Image: Sky News)
Where was Phil when Bea trashed McClunky’s and lied she was attacked, just to gaslight Will (Freddie Phillips) into into guilt-tripping Honey and Billy into letting her continue staying at the house? Where was Phil?
Phil’s had a difficult couple of months. (Picture: BBC)
Okay, so maybe we can give Phil a pass.
Still, Big P lives his life by one cardinal rule – don’t mess with the Mitchells (unless you are a Mitchell). Billy might be nothing more than his runt-of-the-litter second cousin in Phil’s eyes, but he’s still family. Be afraid, Bea. Be very afraid.
However, Billy’s been doing a pretty bang-up job of kicking his missus’ crazed bestie to the kerb all by himself lately, after he refused to let Bea move back in even though Honey needed major surgery.
Advertisement
Don’t miss a Soaps scoop! Add us as a Preferred Source
As a loyal Metro Soaps reader, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for stories. We have all the latest soaps news, spoilers, videos, and interviews, with a vibrant community of highly engaged readers.
Click the button below and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.
Now you can ensure you never miss a story from the Soaps team
Advertisement
Billy stood his ground with Bea. (Picture: BBC)
However, the Single White Female of Walford isn’t finished with Honey yet.
Yesterday’s trip to the Square saw Bea use a recording of Billy’s voice to create a fake dating profile of him – hoping to frame him for cheating.
Honey is too nice and sweet not to be taken in by Bea, so Billy’s about to find himself in a tough spot indeed. Bea’s an arch manipulator, a delusional fantasist who can mislead anyone into swallowing her bizarre narrative.
The nightmare is far from over as Bea will strike again (Picture: BBC / Metro)
Phil Mitchel however, has a resume that makes her look like a girlscout.
We’re talking about a man with a record of arson, abuse and the attempted murder of Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), among others. He might have gentled down (a little) since those days, but he’s still a force to be reckoned with.
So needless to say, when the Incredible Sulk gets involved in the Bea situation for his cousin Billy, EastEnders fans will be punching the air. In upcoming episodes, Mister Potato Head himself rolls up his sleeves and promises to ‘deal with Bea’ for Billy. Eep.
Advertisement
Phil’s gunning for Bea. (Picture: BBC)
It’s tense between Honey and Billy after their failed date but elsewhere, Bea is upset that no one in Walford has remembered her birthday. Con’t let her anywhere near the candles…
Late, she misreads a situation in The Vic when she assumes Kat’s (Jessie Wallace)birthday surprise for Lily (Lillia Turner) is for her. Bea flees to the café with sympathetic Honey in tow. But when Honey asks her not to tell Billy that they saw each other. Bea leaps on her chance to paint Billy as controlling. Suddenly, Billy stumbles on the pair, and with Bea’s words on her mind, Honey is firm that she will see who she likes.
Billy can’t get rid of Bea alone. (Picture: BBC)
Phil spies a worried Billy and upon discovering his plight with Bea, he decides to take matters into his own hands and give Bea what she wants most – cash. Big P hands gives Bea an envelope of money to leave Walford. Will it work?
Not likely. Later in The Vic, Bea exposes Billy and Phil’s actions, but just when Billy is about to win Honey round, Bea spins the mother of all lies — Billy tried to sleep with her!
Honey and onlookers are stunned as Billy protests his innocence. Honey flees with Billy and Bea in tow, and the trio argue back at No.18 before Honey asks everyone to leave.
Billy heads to see Phil, who insists he’ll sort it.
Chris Saunders, best known for his TV and film trivia channel ‘Screen and Beyond’ which has gained more than 270,000 followers, will help choose the winners of a cosplay contest as part of this year’s Fan Fest.
Fan Fest will take place on Saturday, June 27, and Sunday, June 28, returning to the centre for its third summer.
The event has been described by previous attendees as a “mini Comic Con.”
Advertisement
The event’s Star Wars zone will include a five-metre-high AT-ST, a replica Snowspeeder, and Jabba the Hutt’s lair complete with his Throne Room.
@screenandbeyond Growing up with Star Wars and He-Man shaped my childhood, the toys, cartoons, action figures and movies were EVERYTHING. Now with The Mandalorian & Grogu and Masters of the Universe both hitting the big screen, it feels like the 80s and 90s are back all over again. Seeing lightsabers, Skeletor and He-Man figures back in toy shops is pure nostalgia. Early reactions are already building massive hype for both movies, but could He-Man actually become the surprise hit of 2026? I think so Team Star Wars or Team He-Man? Which movie are you more excited for? #whattowatch#movienews#starwars#mastersoftheuniverse#newreleases @Star Wars @mastersmovie ♬ original sound – Chris – Screen and Beyond
Other themed areas will feature Castle Grayskull from Masters of the Universe, as well as characters from Marvel and DC, Transformers, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Visitors are encouraged to take part in the cosplay competition by photographing their costumes at the event and posting them on Instagram before 4pm, tagging Metrocentre and using the hashtag #FanFestMetrocentre for a bonus entry.
In a statement, the Metrocentre’s marketing manager, Helen Atkinson, said: “Lifelong enthusiast or relatively new to pop culture, with each edition of Fan Fest we continue to add more and more attractions to appeal to every age and interest.
Advertisement
“With this being Metrocentre’s 40th year, festivalgoers can also look forward to some special 1980s nostalgia: from costumed characters and displays to retro vehicles.”
Food venues will be joining in the fun, with Pizza Express offering perks for cosplayers and several other restaurants including Nando’s, Bella Italia, Thaikhun, and Fattoush Lounge running ‘Kids Eat Free’ promotions throughout the weekend.
A full event guide and competition details will be available at themetrocentre.co.uk in the days leading up to the event.
Whatever your politics or profession, leaders who dominate our collective memory are rarely the quiet, methodical ones. They are the ones who stepped on stage or screen and made people believe in a vision, a company, a movement or a future. They all had charisma.
Think of leaders who have captivated the public imagination: Martin Luther King Jr, Steve Jobs, Margaret Thatcher. Not universally liked, but they all had something.
So what, exactly, is this seemingly magical quality? And why of all the characteristics we might prize in a leader – competence, integrity, careful judgment, ethical courage – do we so consistently fall for it?
Advertisement
The word “charisma” comes from the Greek khárisma, meaning a divine gift or grace. The German sociologist Max Weber first applied it systematically to leadership in the early 20th century. He described charismatic authority as a form of influence rooted not in any formal rules, but in a leader’s extraordinary personal qualities.
Today, psychologists recognise charisma as a cluster of characteristics and behaviour that signal authenticity, emotional competence, persuasiveness, passion and enthusiasm – and which together mobilise followers towards a shared goal or activity.
Success influences perceptions of charisma, of course. Perhaps more worryingly, how someone looks is also important, and we form those judgments in an instant.
Ratings of charisma based on five-second silent video clips were found to correctly predict how some people judge leaders over much longer periods, using richer observations. In other words, we often decide very quickly whether someone “looks like a charismatic leader”.
Advertisement
Charisma is teachable
However, not everyone agrees that charisma is so superficial. Others, like the British sociologist Max Atkinson, believe it is primarily a social skill that can be taught. Perhaps, even to those who don’t have the requisite looks.
Indeed, few experts have done more to strip the mystique from charisma than Atkinson. His work focused largely on the content and delivery of political speeches – another key determinant of how people view a leader’s charisma.
In his 1984 book Our Masters’ Voices, Atkinson used systematic analyses of political speeches to demonstrate that what audiences experience as charisma in oratory is, to a considerable degree, the product of identifiable rhetorical techniques that reliably trigger applause and emotional engagement.
Atkinson identified a small number of structures that generate spontaneous applause in political speeches. These include two-part contrasts (“not this, but that”), three-part lists (“government of the people, by the people, for the people”), and the packaging of praise or attack in ways that signal to the audience when to respond in an immediate, unified way.
Advertisement
Such techniques have an immediate impact on judgments of charisma. They are not, however, accidents of natural talent. They are rhetorical devices at least as old as Cicero, and as teachable as any other communication skill.
Atkinson put this to a striking test in a 1984 Granada TV programme. He coached a speaker with no prior public speaking experience to deliver a conference address to the Social Democratic Party’s annual conference.
The coached speaker won multiple rounds of applause and a standing ovation. BBC commentator Sir Robin Day called it “the most refreshing speech we’ve heard so far”. The audience had no idea they were responding to a method.
Advertisement
John Antonakis explains his research on charisma. Video: TEDx Talks.
This anticipated what researchers such as John Antonakis would later confirm: charismatic leadership involves specific, teachable behaviour. He identified both verbal features (including use of metaphor, storytelling, and rhetorical questions) and nonverbal ones (animated voice, open gestures, facial expressiveness).
Speeches that used more of these features received significantly higher ratings for trust, competence and leadership potential from independent raters. This work points to the same uncomfortable conclusion: much of what we experience as a leader’s natural magnetism is, in fact, a performance based on specific features that can be deliberately scripted.
Evolved strategy
Why, then, are we so susceptible to these signals? One answer comes from evolutionary psychology. Charismatic leadership is thought to be an evolved strategy for group coordination.
Our brains evolved in small-group environments where following an inspiring, confident individual in times of threat may have helped us survive because we acted together.
Advertisement
This may help explain why we are more susceptible to charismatic leaders in times of crisis. When things feel uncertain or dangerous, people might reach for the visionary. Yet the very leaders we feel most drawn to in those moments – the boldly confident, the certain, the inspiring – may not always be well-suited to navigating such complexity, if they resist the open-minded, ambiguity-tolerant thinking that difficult problems require.
There is another important consideration. The qualities that make someone appear charismatic overlap with some less flattering personality profiles. Studies have revealed positive correlations between charisma in leaders and narcissism.
While narcissism may help leaders rise to positions of power, it does not predict effectiveness once in those roles. Indeed, an inverted U-shaped relationship between charismatic personality and leader effectiveness has been found.
Charisma is clearly not without value. The ability to communicate a compelling vision, build trust and mobilise people towards a common goal is very important, as is the resultant hope.
Advertisement
But the modern obsession with charisma as a primary criterion for leadership can be distorting. We can end up giving too much weight to charisma in selection decisions, and too little to qualities like integrity, intellectual humility, and the willingness to say “I don’t know”.
The task of a sophisticated follower, whether in a boardroom, a ballot box or a town hall meeting, is surely to slow down, look past the performance, and ask harder questions. Remember, first impressions are not always right, but they are incredibly sticky.
England saw New Zealand take a stranglehold on the second Rothesay Test, with missed chances by James Rew and Emilio Gay adding to the home side’s error count.
By the end of day three at the Kia Oval the tourists were leading by 352 runs with seven wickets still in hand.
An inexperienced bowling attack struggled to come up with answers as centurion Henry Nicholls and Rachin Ravindra stacked up a killer stand of 161 – almost doubling the best partnership of the series thus far.
Emilio Gay dives but fails to take the catch off New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra (foreground) (PA)
Ravindra finally fell for 76 but Nicholls, rising admirably to the challenge of replacing the retired Kiwi great Kane Williamson at No 3, guided his side to 252 for three with an outstanding 119 not out.
And when opportunity did knock for England, their fielders failed to answer. Josh Tongue could have left the Black Caps 48 for three when he snared the outside edge, but debutant Rew dived one-handed at a catch that looked to be more comfortable than he made it appear and dropped Ravindra on just seven.
Advertisement
The 22-year-old came under further scrutiny later on: Nicholls was on 42 when he gloved Jofra Archer’s hostile bouncer for four, clearing Rew when he seemed to have a chance to cling on.
Interim captain Joe Root, who returned to lead at short notice after Ben Stokes’s exclusion, began losing patience with a young team, and his mood cannot have improved when Ravindra popped Jacob Bethell’s unpredictable left-arm spin towards short-leg. However, Gay was unable to get in position, throwing out an arm and getting no more than a fingertip graze.
Nicholls (left) and Ravindra underpinned New Zealand’s second innings (PA)
The list of mistakes was mounting on a hastily rearranged side showing five changes from the one that went 1-0 up at Lord’s, Ben Duckett involved in a costly drop of his own on day two as well as being carelessly run out by Gay. They also conceded a staggering 53 in extras in the first innings, compared to New Zealand’s nine.
Friday’s play started with another painful passage, losing three wickets for three runs as Matt Henry’s unerring seamers removed Jordan Cox, Archer and Tongue – excellent catches by Tom Latham, Tom Blundell and Nathan Smith putting England’s later efforts in perspective.
The completion of a classy five-wicket haul for Henry left England 238 for nine, adrift by 153, before a show of steel from Matt Fisher and last man Sonny Baker.
Advertisement
Neither had scored an international run before – Fisher having faced just five balls on his previous Test outing four years ago and Baker on debut – but the pair defied expectations to put on 53.
Fisher hit an unbeaten 50, just his third in first-class cricket, while Baker fended off 36 deliveries in a 17-over rearguard before falling to Kyle Jamieson.
Matt Fisher carved his way to a Test half-century (PA)
England’s 291 left them exactly 100 behind, but Archer had Latham caught behind with an early tester and Tongue’s first delivery was too good for Devon Conway.
Had Tongue added Ravindra, the momentum may have shifted, but Rew’s fumble proved a turning point. England waited 33 overs before getting their man, lbw for 76 sweeping Bethell, with their unproven attack showing its limitations.
Fisher generated little threat, Baker and Tongue struggled for consistency, and Archer cut a frustrated figure. Nicholls outmatched them all on his way to an 11th Test hundred, a high-class innings containing 16 fours.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A labor union behind a controversial tax on California billionaires significantly scaled back its proposal a day after it qualified for the November ballot, but the offer Thursday wasn’t enough to get the governor on board.
The proposal from the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Workers West to impose a one-time, 5% tax on individuals whose net worth exceeds $1 billion faces staunch pushback from a wide swath of critics, including Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. The union said Thursday that it would abandon the 5% tax proposal if Newsom would join them in supporting a 2% levy. The updated proposal would instead have to be passed by the Legislature, given a June 25 deadline for the measure to qualify for the ballot.
Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for Newsom, said scaling it back doesn’t change its “fundamental flaws that harm working Californians.”
“The Governor supports making the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share, but this poorly designed state-only measure will defund teachers, schools, clinics, and public safety,” she said in a statement.
Advertisement
The tax, to be paid by those living in the state as of Jan. 1, 2026, is meant to generate $100 billion in revenue, mainly to counter federal cuts to healthcare for low-income people with some money going to food assistance and education programs.
“A 2% one-time tax on that accumulated wealth is modest by any objective measure especially if it means keeping emergency rooms open and saving patient lives,” backers wrote in a letter to Newsom.
Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a Democrat, said Wednesday night that petitioners collected more than the roughly 875,000 signatures needed to place the original proposal before voters.
States have been debating how to respond to the major tax breaks and spending cuts legislation President Donald Trump signed last year. The proposal has already divided Democrats and major labor unions and triggered an expensive campaign to defeat it. The proposed tax is backed by prominent progressives including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Advertisement
Silicon Valley tech moguls have spent millions to defeat it, and prominent players in Sacramento have opposed it. They include the California Medical Association and California School Boards Association, which helped launch a committee this week urging voters to reject it if it ends up on the ballot in November. Newsom also opposed a ballot measure in 2022 to increase taxes on the wealthy, which would have funded programs that help people buy electric cars or install more chargers. Voters rejected it.
Advertisement
Sign up for Morning Wire:
Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day.
Critics say the original measure would decrease state revenue over time by pushing the ultrawealthy to leave, taking the money they would contribute in income taxes with them. That would deal a huge blow to a state that relies on its top 1% of earners for nearly half its personal income tax revenue.
Advertisement
“This flawed measure is the wrong approach for California’s small businesses and working families,” said Roger Salazar, a spokesperson for Golden State Promise, a political committee fighting the tax.
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates that the 5% tax would generate tens of billions of dollars in the first few years, but that income tax revenues could subsequently decline by hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
Since the proposal was announced in October, Google co-founder Sergey Brin has donated $82 million to a political committee called Building a Better California that backs a variety of initiatives designed to blunt the billionaire tax proposal. It has raised more than $118 million, counting Brin’s contributions, from fewer than a dozen donors.
State lawmakers passed budget bills this week that aim to raise revenue in other ways, including by extending a tax on healthcare providers. Newsom and legislative leaders agree to this approach, Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón said.
Advertisement
“The budget, as approved by the Legislature and now being negotiated with the Governor, does not include the billionaire’s tax,” the Democrat said in a statement. “Instead, it reflects additional revenues to address our long-term structural deficit.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login