Hospitality industry fears jobs at risk from plan to give mayors powers to impose ‘tourist tax’

The sector is concerned by reports that there won’t be a cap on the levy that can be imposed by mayors

Kemi Badenoch made her claim about her policies not being likely to increase homelessness (see 9.49am) in an interview with Emma Barnett on the Today programme. In terms of what was said, it was not particularly illuminating, but it was remarkable for the belligerence on display. Badenoch kept interrupting Barnett quite forcefully. The Tory leader may have felt that she was being assertive in response to a hostile broadcaster, but many neutral listeners may have been alienated by her tone.

Ethan Croft from the New Statesman has a good summary here.

Pretty poor Today programme interview with Kemi Badenoch in which she repeated a bunch of her usual mistakes

- begins by saying it’s fine for her to creatively interpret the PM’s words on “social security” however she likes, then a minute later gets mad with Emma Barnett for interpreting her own words on housing benefits. Reaping/sowing in record time

Badenoch obviously has strengths but those sort of interviews need a lot of work

Right now we’re not even getting the number of tourists that we used to get. They’re going to so many other places.

We need to create jobs and grow our economy. Business does that. Taxing does not create jobs. It reduces them. We saw that with Rachel Reeves’ budget. I wish Labour had learned that lesson.