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Labour must stick to manifesto pledge not to raise key taxes, Lucy Powell says
Labour’s new deputy leader Lucy Powell has said the Government should not rip up its manifesto promises over tax hikes, amid mounting speculation it is preparing to do so at the Budget.
Ms Powell, who was sacked from Sir Keir Starmer’s Cabinet in September before winning the deputy leadership election last month, said “we should be following through on our manifesto, of course”.
She suggested breaking the pledge not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT would damage “trust in politics”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, the former Commons leader said: “We should be following through on our manifesto, of course. There’s no question about that.”
She continued: “Trust in politics is a key part of that because if we’re to take the country with us then they’ve got to trust us and that’s really important too.”
Ms Powell said the highly anticipated Budget should be about “putting more money back into the pockets of ordinary working people”.
She said: “That’s what that manifesto commitment is all about. And that’s what this Budget will be about I’m sure.”
She added: “It’s really important we stand by the promises that we were elected on and that we do what we said we would do.”
The Manchester Central MP also called for the two-child benefit cap to be lifted “in full” as a matter of urgency.
The Government has come under increasing pressure to scrap the policy, which restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households.
Ms Reeves is expected to make changes to the limit, first announced in 2015 by the Conservatives, in her autumn statement.
It has been reported the Treasury is looking at different options including whether additional benefits might be limited to three or four children, or whether there could be a taper rate meaning parents would receive the most benefits for their first child and less for subsequent children.
Ms Powell said: “I think what we’ve all been talking about recently is the urgency of that now, because every year that passes with this policy in place, another 40,000 minimum, 40,000 children, are pushed into deep levels of poverty as a result of it and that’s why it is urgent that we do lift it and we lift it in full.”
Her comments could cause a headache for the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who have recently heightened expectations that the November 26 Budget will feature an increase in the basic rate of income tax.
Doing so would mean ditching Labour’s commitment to voters ahead of last year’s general election not to increase income tax, national insurance or VAT.
Ms Reeves could use a 2p rise in income tax to help plug what the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said is a £50 billion black hole in the nation’s public finances and give herself a larger fiscal headroom.
Ms Powell won the deputy leadership race after a campaign based on a call for the party to change course.
Her intervention will be seen as evidence that she will use her position to speak out against Sir Keir’s administration’s policies, which she is free to do from the back benches, unlike her defeated deputy leadership rival, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, who is bound by collective responsibility.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has raised serious concerns over how real estate regulatory authorities are functioning across the country. Taking a sharp view, the top court said it may be “better to abolish” these bodies, suggesting they have failed to protect homebuyers and instead appear to benefit defaulting builders. The court added that states should reconsider the very need for such authorities if they are not serving their intended purpose.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said states should rethink the original purpose behind introducing RERA. The court observed that instead of protecting homebuyers, the law appears to be helping defaulting builders and not serving its intended role.
Expressing strong concern, CJI Surya Kant said states should reflect on the purpose for which RERA was created. He suggested the institution is failing to serve homebuyers and instead appears to benefit defaulting builders. “All states should now think of the people for whom the institution of RERA was created. Except facilitating builders in default, it is not doing anything else. Better to just abolish this institution,” CJI Kant said, quoted by Bar and Bench.
Last year, the High Court had stayed the state government’s decision to shift the RERA office, pointing out that the move was taken “without even identifying an alternative office location”. The court also noted that transferring 18 outsourced employees to other boards and corporations, as requested, “would render the functioning of Rera defunct”.
The Supreme Court, however, set aside the High Court’s order and allowed the state government to shift the RERA office to Dharamshala. It also permitted the relocation of the appellate tribunal to the same location. “With a view to ensure that persons affected by Rera orders are not inconvenienced, the principal appellate is also moved to Dharamshala,” the apex court said.
What Is RERA And Why It Matters
RERA, introduced in 2016, was aimed at addressing project delays, improving transparency and safeguarding homebuyers’ interests. Earlier, each state and union territory operated its own RERA website. However, in September 2025, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched a unified RERA portal that brings together data from across states and UTs on a single platform.
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SEBI proposes stricter base price and band rules for gold, silver ETFs, including cooling-off periods after sharp global price swings to curb volatility.
Amid Global Commodity Volatility, SEBI Plans New Price Band Rules for Gold, Silver ETFs
The market regulator has sought to curb extreme volatility in gold and silver Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) by proposing changes to the base price and price band framework. Currently, there are no separate price bands for ETFs aligned with their underlying assets, making them vulnerable to sharp price movements.
The proposal comes after sharp volatility in gold and silver ETFs triggered by fluctuations in global commodity prices. On some days, these ETFs fell by over 15%, while on others, they recorded sharp gains.
Stock exchanges currently apply a fixed price band of plus or minus 20% on the base price of ETFs, except for Overnight ETFs investing only in TREPs, which have a price band of plus or minus 5%.
Moreover, the base price for applying price bands to ETFs is taken as the T-2 day closing Net Asset Value (NAV) by exchanges, instead of the T-1 day closing NAV or price, as is the case with indices and individual stocks. This creates a challenge, as the closing NAV of ETFs typically differs between T-1 and T-2 days. Corporate actions such as bonuses and dividends are adjusted manually, increasing the risk of errors.
What Are the Key Proposals?
SEBI has proposed that the base price be determined using either the closing price of the ETF on T-1 day (weighted average price of the last 30 minutes), the closing NAV of T-1 day, or the average indicative NAV (iNAV) of the last 30 minutes of T-1 day.
Further, the regulator has proposed an initial price band of plus or minus 10% for equity and debt ETFs, which can be flexed up to plus or minus 20%. A cooling-off period of 15 minutes will apply, and up to two flexes will be allowed in a day.
For gold and silver ETFs, the regulator has proposed an initial price band of plus or minus 6%, which can be flexed up to plus or minus 20%. This will also include a 15-minute cooling-off period.
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February 14, 2026, 16:08 IST
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Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) forwarded a summary to the federal government suggesting an increase of Rs4.39 per liter in petrol price for the next fortnight.
After approval from the federal government, one liter of petrol will be sold at Rs257.56 instead of Rs253.17 per liter.
The price of high-speed diesel (HSD) will be increased by Rs5.40 per liter.
After approval, the price of one liter of high-speed diesel will increase by Rs268.38 to Rs273.78.
The proposal to increase the price of kerosene by Rs4 per liter is also on the cards.
The OGRA also recommended increasing the price of one liter of light diesel by Rs6.55.
The new prices of petroleum products will be effective from February 16, 2026.
Due to tension between the USA and Iran, petroleum prices are likely to increase further.
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