The Facts

Fiscal headroom refers to the amount of leeway or buffer the government has within its generally self-imposed fiscal rules to increase spending or cut taxes. These rules are intended to keep public finances under control and maintain the confidence of the market and the public.

The principle of non-refoulement guarantees that a person cannot be returned to a country where they would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other irreparable harm. A country violates the principle of non-refoulement if they send the person to a third country where they are at risk of refoulment, or being sent to the country of origin where their life or freedom would be threatened.

When standing down from the House of Commons, MPs are given a new job – either as Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, or Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead. Holding either of these positions is incompatible with being a Member of Parliament, as it’s thought that MPs cannot scrutinise other Crown Offices whilst holding one themselves.

Interim measures (or ‘Rule 39 orders’) are urgent orders issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on an exceptional basis, where there is an ‘real risk of serious and irreversible harm’.

An Autumn Statement is an update from the Chancellor to MPs on the government’s taxation and spending plans.

Fiscal drag occurs when inflation and earnings rise, but tax thresholds or tax bands do not increase with inflation.

A three-line whip is an instruction by a political party to attend and vote in support of a party’s position in Parliament….

There is no right to strike under UK law. However, under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, everyone has…

The ‘default tariff cap’ – widely called the energy price cap – determines the maximum price per unit customers can pay for…

A windfall tax is levied against companies deemed to have made excessively high profits, or a ‘windfall’, from circumstances they themselves did not engineer. Learn more here.

Volodymyr Zelensky is the current and sixth President of Ukraine. He assumed office in May 2019 and is a member of the…

Martin Reynolds was Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minster from October 2019 until his resignation in February 2022. He previously served…