James Murray is the new Treasury Chief Secretary under Keir Starmer’s cabinet, which could swing either way for the horse racing duty.

Yesterday, 1 September, Keir Starmer announced a mini cabinet reshuffle, giving Murray his next government position while also moving Darren Jones to a brand new role – Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister.

PM tightens control on fiscal policy

The former number two to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, Jones will now directly report to Starmer.

This may indicate that the PM wants to have greater oversight of government economic policy going forward, particularly ahead of the Autumn Budget.

Due to be announced by Reeves in October or November, the budget could prove crucial to the betting industry with HM Treasury mulling over whether to merge the three types of gaming duty.

Starmer’s Treasury reshuffle has seen Jones replaced by Murray as the Treasury Chief Secretary, and will now work closely with Reeves to cover any cracks in the UK economy – a challenging task given the current fiscal situation.

Horse racing could suffer

One of the potential actions that the UK Treasury is currently looking at to cover any holes in the budget is merging the three types of gaming tax into the single Remote Gaming Duty at 21%.

This would in turn raise the Pool Betting and the General Betting Duty up from the current 15%, inevitably affecting the horse racing industry.

Given that horse racing is the second largest spectator sport in the UK and it carries a major cultural significance, racing stakeholders are naturally worried whether the government will take this step, which is to be decided when the Budget comes.

Murray to save the day?

With Murray becoming Reeves’ number two, however, there might be some hope left, as he has been previously vocal about working closely with the horse racing sector to mitigate any negative consequences.

During a July debate on racing betting and gaming duty when he was still the Exchequer secretary, Murray said: “We will absolutely continue close dialogue with the horse racing industry on these proposals.

“We intend to continue those conversations with the industry, and we welcome further engagement.”

DCMS dismantling not ruled out yet

However, a bigger question now looms over the wider gambling industry. Starmer’s cabinet changes would’ve surely come on advice of his principal strategist, Morgan McSweeney.

Back in May, rumours began circulating that besides a cabinet restructuring, strategists around Starmer may call for a departmental reorganisation as well, which could involve the abolishment of the DCMS.

With half of the rumours around McSweeney’s work coming true, it begs the question – will Starmer also get rid of the DCMS, and what would that mean for the implementation of the Gambling Review White Paper?