@wdclawrence

Comms and Policy @bactauk | Durham Politics and IR Grad | MCFC Home & Away | Views my own

Chester/London
Joined February 2015
Will Lawrence retweeted
I'm going to abolish the triple lock... ... and use any savings to introduce a new social care entitlement
🚨 BREAKING: Andy Burnham is set to signal the end of the state pension triple lock in his conference speech tomorrow [@Telegraph]
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Will Lawrence retweeted
This outrageous racket has to stop.
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Britain if the government stopped holding a thousand "consultations" on every new idea and instead just did things
🚨 NEW: Andy Burnham has refused to back the third runway at Heathrow “It’s not right for me to jump straight in on this issue off the back of a consultation”
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Will Lawrence retweeted
A letter from the Chairman. 🔗 mancity.co/ChairmanLetter
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Will Lawrence retweeted
Only found guilty of 114 charges instead of 115
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Will Lawrence retweeted
Seaside arcades are about more than entertainment. They provide jobs, investment, family fun and footfall for the wider coastal economy. Bacta member Charles Holland sets out why Britain’s seaside revival is an opportunity we cannot afford to waste. politicshome.com/members/art…
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Will Lawrence retweeted
There is a strong spirit of camaraderie in the peloton. Everyone knows the risks involved. But riders are ‘filled with anger’ as their lives are being repeatedly put at risk. Cycling must learn from the tragedy of Finlay Tarling, @tomcary_tel writes ⤵️ telegraph.co.uk/cycling/2026…
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Will Lawrence retweeted
Thank you, Rodri 🩵
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We were warned. “You name it, Labour will tax it.” 🥀
In the 24 months since Labour came to power, we've seen; • Employer National Insurance increased from 13.8% to 15%. • The employer NI threshold cut from £9,100 to £5,000. • Income Tax and National Insurance thresholds frozen until 2031. • Capital Gains Tax increased from 10% and 20% to 18% and 24%. • Business Asset Disposal Relief increased from 10% to 14%, then 18%. • Investors’ Relief increased and its lifetime allowance cut from £10 million to £1 million. • Carried interest taxation increased and moved towards the Income Tax regime. • Dividend tax rates increased by two percentage points. • Savings-income tax rates increased by two percentage points. • Property-income tax rates increased by two percentage points. • Most unused pension funds brought into the Inheritance Tax net. • Agricultural Property Relief restricted. • Business Property Relief restricted. • Inheritance Tax thresholds frozen for longer. • The non-dom regime replaced with a more extensive residence-based system. • VAT imposed on private school fees. • Business-rates relief removed from private schools. • Stamp Duty increased on second homes and buy-to-let properties. • The Furnished Holiday Lettings tax regime abolished. • Pension salary-sacrifice benefits capped at £2,000 before National Insurance applies. • The Cash ISA allowance cut to £12,000 for most under-65s. • A 22% charge introduced on interest from cash held inside non-cash ISAs. • Restrictions introduced on transfers and cash-like holdings within ISAs. • The Energy Profits Levy increased and extended. • Investment allowances for oil and gas producers reduced. • A new Vaping Products Duty introduced. • Tobacco duties increased above inflation. • Vehicle Excise Duty increased for many new cars. • Electric vehicles brought into the Vehicle Excise Duty system. • A new mileage tax announced for electric and plug-in hybrid cars. • Air Passenger Duty increased. • Climate Change Levy rates increased. • Plastic Packaging Tax increased. • A new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism introduced. • Making Tax Digital extended to more landlords and self-employed people. Together they represent one of the biggest transfers of wealth from households and businesses to the Treasury in decades - with no noticeable improvement in public services. Whether you're a business owner employing staff, a parent paying school fees, a farmer planning succession, an entrepreneur building wealth or simply someone trying to save for retirement... You keep less of what you earn. You keep less of what you invest. You leave less to your family. Death by a thousand cuts is becoming tax policy.
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Will Lawrence retweeted
Bacta warmly welcomes Vicky Foxcroft MP to her new role as Gambling Minister. We enjoyed a strong and constructive relationship with her predecessor and look forward to continuing that close engagement. This comes at a critical time for Britain’s land-based sector.
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Will Lawrence retweeted
Won't someone please do something about the proliferation of betting shops and amusement arcades?
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Will Lawrence retweeted
Betting shops are licensed, regulated, taxed, and employ tens of thousands of people. Grouping them with “dodgy businesses” isn’t a serious description of a regulated sector. It’s also aimed at the wrong target. Betting shops: 8,822 → 5,872 over the decade. Adult gaming: 1,610 → 1,502. Barbers: 2,953 → 18,078. Takeaways: 2,882 → 13,478. Whatever has reshaped the high street, it isn’t gambling premises. And with each new announcement, more jobs are lost.
Vape shops. Betting shops. Dodgy businesses. If you look at your high street these days and think ‘who asked for this?’, you’re not alone. I’m doing something about it. We’re giving local people and councils more control over what opens, and tougher powers to crack down on businesses that aren’t good for our communities. For too long, Westminster has stood by while our high streets declined. That ends now.
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Will Lawrence retweeted
The Prime Minister is right to want thriving, diverse high streets. However, it is deeply disappointing to see responsible, licensed Adult Gaming Centres grouped together with rogue traders and criminal operators.
Vape shops. Betting shops. Dodgy businesses. If you look at your high street these days and think ‘who asked for this?’, you’re not alone. I’m doing something about it. We’re giving local people and councils more control over what opens, and tougher powers to crack down on businesses that aren’t good for our communities. For too long, Westminster has stood by while our high streets declined. That ends now.
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Will Lawrence retweeted
The facts speak for themselves. Adult Gaming Centres are not rapidly expanding. Their numbers have fallen over the past decade. These are responsible, licensed businesses providing safe, supervised and alcohol-free entertainment, with clear protections for customers.
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Will Lawrence retweeted
The data is clear: betting shops and AGCs are shrinking. The government is removing “aim to permit” citing “the rise of vape shops, betting shops and rogue operators.” Betting shops: 8,822 → 5,872. Adult gaming: 1,610 → 1,502. Whatever is reshaping the high street, it isn’t gambling premises. Legislating on a stated rise that the government’s own data shows is a decline sets a worrying precedent, whatever you think of the sector.
Amazing graphic from the FT on Britain's high streets - explosion in the number of barbers and takeaways (plus, from a much lower basis, vape shops). Bookies experiencing serious shrinkage.
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Yet more 'government knows best', nanny-state nonsense from Labour. The lefties just can't resist telling people what to do and how to spend their money, can they? How about spending time focusing on the illegal cigarette and alcohol operators and dodgy barbers on our High Streets and less time attacking perfectly legitimate vape and betting businesses? Labour policies have already forced hundreds of betting shops to close, forcing punters to the less safe online or black markets. Labour's jobs tax, business rates increases and regulations have undermined our pubs, and thousands of small and family businesses, causing unemployment and hollowing out our High Streets. Only the @Conservatives have a credible, pro-business economic strategy that will create jobs and support our High Streets, including 100% business rates relief for most retail, hospitality and leisure businesses. When will Labour learn: more regulations + higher taxes = more empty shops + higher unemployment. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg9…
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Will Lawrence retweeted
Amazing graphic from the FT on Britain's high streets - explosion in the number of barbers and takeaways (plus, from a much lower basis, vape shops). Bookies experiencing serious shrinkage.
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Will Lawrence retweeted
Britain's national debt has just crossed £3 trillion according to new @the_tpa research, over £100,000 per household. It took more than 300 years to get to £1 trillion, 10 years to get to £2 trillion, and just 6 years to get to £3 trillion. This is unsustainable!
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Will Lawrence retweeted
You cannot protect consumers by weakening the regulated market. Illegal gambling thrives outside regulation, safeguards and scrutiny. Bacta's Allaster Gair explains why licensed operators are part of the solution in his latest @SBCGAMINGNEWS op-ed. sbcnews.co.uk/retail/2026/08…
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