Tata Steel workers in South Wales to begin indefinite strike next month – as it happened

Time to wrap up, here are today’s main stories:

Labour drafts options for wealth taxes to ‘unlock’ funds for public services

Anna Isaac

The Labour party has been drawing up options for how it could raise money through extra wealth taxes to help rebuild Britain’s public services if it wins the general election, according to sources who have spoken to the Guardian.

The proposals under consideration include increases in capital gains tax (CGT), first revealed by the Guardian two weeks ago, that could raise £8bn.

Another option under discussion could lead to significant changes to inheritance tax. The measure would make it more difficult to “gift” money and assets, such as farmland, tax free. Together with CGT increases it could raise up to £10bn in revenue, according to one document seen by the Guardian.

A senior Labour source said:

“We are starting from ground zero with our public services and infrastructure. We have to show we are serious about borrowing and raising revenue from taxes if investors are going to walk in step with us. These measures are part of unlocking wealth and putting it to work.”

Back in the economics world, output across the US private sector has hit a 26-month high this month.

The monthly ‘flash’ survey of US purchasing managers has found that US business activity growth accelerated to its fastest for 26 months in June, led by the service sector.

This has lifted the Flash US PMI composite output index up to 54.6, from May’s 54.5, which shows a faster expansion.

The survey also found that employment rose for the first time in three months, and optimism about output in the year ahead edged up to a three-month high.

Chris Williamson, chief business Eeonomist at S&P Global Market Intelligence says:

“The early PMI data signal the fastest economic expansion for over two years in June, hinting at an encouragingly robust end to the second quarter while at the same time inflation pressures have cooled.

The PMI is running at a level broadly consistent with the economy growing at an annualized rate of just under 2.5%. The upturn is broad-based, as rising demand continues to filter through the economy.

Although led by the service sector, reflecting strong domestic spending, the expansion is being supported by an ongoing recovery in manufacturing, which so far this year is enjoying its best growth spell for two years.

Newsflash: Around 1,500 Tata workers based in Port Talbot and Llanwern will begin all-out indefinite strike action next month over the company’s plans to cut 2,800 jobs and close its blast furnaces, the Unite union have announced.

Unite say the strike which begins on 8 July, is the first strike action by UK steel workers in 40 years.

They say it will “severely impact” Tata’s UK operations.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said:

“Tata’s workers are not just fighting for their jobs – they are fighting for the future of their communities and the future of steel in Wales.

“Our members will not standby while this immensely wealthy conglomerate tries to throw Port Talbot and Llanwern on the scrapheap so it can boost its operations abroad. They know South Wales is ideally placed to take advantage of the coming boom in green steel – if the right choices are made.

“The strikes will go on until Tata halts its disastrous plans. Unite is backing Tata’s workers to the hilt in their historic battle to save the Welsh steel industry and give it the bright future it deserves.”

Unite threatened to ramp up industrial action at the South Wales steelworks earlier this month. On Tuesday, staff began an overtime ban and “work to rule”.

The dispute centres on a deal struck in January, under which Tata will receive £500m in state subsidies to help with the move to new “greener” furnaces. The deal also involved starting to close blast furnaces from this month, triggering job losses.

Tata rejected a union proposal under which a blast furnace would have remained in operation while an electric arc furnace – which processes scrap steel – was built, saving jobs.

Without a blast furnace at Port Talbot, the UK would be the only major economy unable to make steel from scratch.

In the energy sector, Octopus Energy is poised to repay the UK government almost £3bn to cover the state support it received to take over the collapsed supplier Bulb.

Octopus will reimburse the government by September in a move that will enable the Treasury to effectively claw back almost all the costs of temporarily nationalising Bulb.

Bulb collapsed in 2021 after it was forced to sell energy at a loss when wholesale prices spiked above the price cap set by the regulator, Ofgem. The government stepped in to ensure its 1.6 million customers still received energy and Bulb was taken into state control temporarily under the special administration regime.

In late 2022, Bulb was sold to Octopus, which is the UK’s second largest energy supplier, with billions of pounds of taxpayer support in a sales process run by the UK government and Teneo, which acted as special administrator to Bulb.