Mind your manors
US Vice-President J.D. Vance is holidaying in an £8,000-a-week manor house near Charlbury in the Cotswolds. What are the other options available on Airbnb or Booking.com for staying in the area for this week (seven nights)?
Sunnyside, Charlbury: a four-bedroom terraced Georgian townhouse £4,847
The Old Chapel, Stonesfield: converted chapel with one double bed £2,134
The Lamb Inn in Ascott under Wychwood: double room, breakfast included £1,413
‘Stay with Flo’ in Charlbury: double bedroom in stone-faced bungalow £971
Daisy’s Rest, Shipton under Wychwood: shepherd hut with shower £745
Breaking up the banned
Over 400 people were arrested in London at a rally to support Palestine Action, a newly proscribed terrorist group. How many organisations are proscribed in the UK?
– 84 groups are proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000. They are in addition to 14 which were proscribed under previous legislation. They include:
Islamist 59
Far right/white supremacist 8
Irish Republican 7
Northern Irish loyalist 7
Pakistan/Kashmir tribal but without a religious element listed 5
Marxist Leninist 2
Greek, Sikh, Basque, Tamil, Egyptian, Kurdish 1 each
The Wagner Group is also listed.
Tax take
Which taxes raised the most in 2024/25?
Income tax £301.9bn
VAT £171.1bn
Employers’ national insurance £116.1bn
Corporation tax £91.4bn
Council tax £50.2bn
Employees’ national insurance £48.1bn
Business rates £25bn
Fuel duty £24.7bn
Carbon count
How are we getting on reducing carbon emissions when measured on a ‘residence basis’ (emissions from around the world caused in the provision of goods and services for people resident in the UK) as opposed to the more frequently quoted territorial-based emissions?
Tons
Q1 2019 161m
Q1 2020 157m
Q1 2021 149m
Q1 2022 146m
Q1 2023 142m
Q1 2024 144m
Q1 2025 145m
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