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No new taxes to change people's diet as Sunak rows back on net zero policy

No new taxes to change people's diet as Sunak rows back on net zero policy
(Photo by Stefan Rousseau - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
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There will be no new policies or taxes to change people’s diets, suggested recent reports citing prime minister Rishi Sunak's expected move to row back on some of the government’s net zero policies that impose a direct cost on consumers.

The move, expected to be announced in a major speech this Friday (22), could include delaying a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and watering down the phasing out of gas boilers. He is also expected to drop plans for new energy-efficiency targets for private rented homes after ministers considered imposing fines on landlords who failed to upgrade their properties, The Guardian reported.


Sunak said on Tuesday (19) that the government remained committed to the net zero target but planned to hit it in a “better, more proportionate” way, saying that politicians of “all the stripes” have not been honest about “costs and trade offs”. In an apparent dig at former prime minister Boris Johnson, he accused previous governments of taking “the easy way out, saying we can have it all”.

Sunak recommitted to the target of net zero emissions by 2050, insisting his government was not “losing our ambition or abandoning our commitments” on climate change. However, he appeared to defend his decision to row back on other targets by claiming he was putting “the long-term interests of our country before the short-term political needs of the moment”.

“This realism doesn’t mean losing our ambition or abandoning our commitments. Far from it, I am proud that Britain is leading the world on climate change. We are committed to net zero by 2050 and the agreements we have made internationally – but doing so in a better, more proportionate way," he said.

Succumbing under pressure from the Conservative right to delay or even abandon costly green policies, it is being reported that Sunak would assure that there would be no new policies to change people’s diets or encourage carpooling. He is also expected to rule out proposed recycling schemes with multiple bins, reports state.

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Independent retailers are demanding tougher police action, more bobbies on the beat and harsher punishments as shoplifting levels reach an all-time high, a new survey reveals.

A whopping ninety-one per cent of respondents to a survey conducted by the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) called for more police patrols on streets, while a similar number - 90 per cent - said that shoplifters should be handed harsher sentences.

Seven out of 10 respondents (72 per cent) said their stores had experienced shoplifting, break ins and damage to property, while they and their staff had been physically or verbally threatened.

Just under half of respondents (47 per cent) said they and their employees had been threatened or had suffered abuse and violence when asking for proof of age ahead of selling an age-restricted product.

Forty-four per cent reported that they and their staff had faced abuse or violence because they had refused to make a proxy sale – selling an age restricted product to a customer buying for a minor.

The results of the Fed’s survey came as new figures from the Office of National Statistics revealed that shoplifting was at a record high, with almost half a million offences recorded last year.

According to the ONS, 469,788 offences were logged by forces in the year to June 2024 – a 29 per cent increase on the previous 12 months.

The ONS added that this figure was the highest since records began – in March 2003.

“Inadequate responses from the police and a slap on the wrist for offenders means that shoplifting is soaring, and offenders are becoming more aggressive and brazen,” said Fed National President Mo Razzaq.

“From the responses we received, it is clear that real action is needed by police, by courts and by the government to stem the overwhelming tide of crime against retailers and their staff. Everyone deserves to feel safe at work and for their businesses to be protected against criminals.

“Fed members are also sending a clear message that one of the catalysts for verbal and physical abuse in stores is asking for proof of age before selling an age restricted product. If the government presses ahead with its plans to phase out smoking and vaping through a progressive ban to gradually end the sale of tobacco products across the country, independent retailers will be subject to even greater levels of violence, abuse and theft.”

Calling for action from the government and not just words, Mr Razzaq continued: “Without effective deterrent, criminals and opportunistic members of the public will continue to commit crimes.”

According to Ministry of Justice statistics, during the year to March 2024, 431 fines were handed out for retail theft under £100, while Home Office statistics for the same period show that 2,252 cautions were accepted for shoplifting.

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