Under the Conservative proposal, any parent employed for at least 16 hours a week would qualify for 30 hours of funded childcare a week. Mrs Badenoch described the present rules as "absurd" and a disincentive to work more. "Conservatives believe that you shouldn't be punished for working more, but this childcare cliff edge does exactly that," she said.

Mat Fascion, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

At present, parents of young children can claim 30 hours of funded care provided both parents earn under 100,000 pounds a year. If one parent's income exceeds the threshold, the entire entitlement is withdrawn. The pledge, announced on the eve of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham this weekend, would abolish the limit entirely.

No one should be turning down a promotion or a pay rise because they literally cannot afford to earn more.Kemi Badenoch

Party officials calculate the policy would cost 700m pounds a year. They say it could be funded through reductions in headcount at arm's-length public bodies, with savings of 1.6bn pounds by the end of the decade from shrinking organisations such as Arts Council England and the Environment Agency. NHS organisations would be excluded from the job cuts.

Courtesy of Oswald Road Primary School

Mrs Badenoch said: "No one should be turning down a promotion or a pay rise because they literally cannot afford to earn more." She added: "It is often women who end up carrying more of the childcare responsibility so a system that makes it harder for them to progress in their careers is not helping families, it is not helping women and it is definitely not helping the economy."

The party described the change as a first step in broader efforts to address issues in the tax system that damage incentives to work or invest, a theme shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith is expected to take up in his conference speech on Monday. Speaking on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mrs Badenoch said: "What we want to see is that people who work harder don't get punished for doing so."

Labour criticised the move as favouring higher earners. A party spokesperson said: "No government has ever put so much focus or investment into the early years as this Labour Government." The spokesperson added: "It tells you everything you need to know about the Tories that the first of their own tax policies they want to unpick is one helping higher earners."

Salam Ahmadyan, 36, and Rahman Salehi, 34, were arrested on September 20, the eve of Yom Kippur, and were charged with engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts. Prosecutor Mark Luckett told the court: "Both defendants are accused of preparing acts of terrorism targeting the Jewish community in Manchester through the use of a homemade explosive device."

David Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The men were observed carrying out what the prosecution described as hostile reconnaissance of Manchester's Jewish community, identifying attempted targets including the Manchester Jewish Museum and the Heaton Park synagogue. Heaton Park was attacked on Yom Kippur last year, when Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, drove a car into the synagogue gates and launched a knife attack while wearing a fake suicide belt. Worshippers Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, were killed, three other men were seriously wounded, and Al-Shamie was shot dead by police.

Both defendants are accused of preparing acts of terrorism targeting the Jewish community in Manchester through the use of a homemade explosive device.Mark Luckett, for the prosecution

Luckett said the pair were alleged to be in contact with a third party who directed and coordinated the planned attack and provided instructions on how to assemble a homemade explosive device. "It's assessed that this individual is also an Iranian national and most likely operating from within Iran," he said. Prosecutors alleged the device would have been made from chlorine and brake fluid.

The Times reported that the men were also alleged to have used encrypted messaging apps to communicate, to have acquired a document entitled "Steps for Making [a] Powder Chlorine and Car Brake Oil/Fluid Bomb", and to have obtained video instructions on manufacturing an improvised explosive device, along with images, plans and maps of potential targets.

The court was told both men came to Britain from Europe in small boats. Reuters reported that Salehi, who arrived in 2020, had been granted asylum, while Ahmadyan, who arrived in 2023, had an asylum claim still outstanding. The Times reported that Salehi, of Salford, had previously sought asylum in Germany before travelling to Britain and was granted indefinite leave to remain in 2023, while Ahmadyan is of Liverpool. The men spoke through interpreters to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses.

Mike Peel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Neither man entered a plea. District Judge Nina Tempia remanded both in custody until a hearing at the Old Bailey on October 23.

The case comes a week after Britain said Iran was believed to be involved in a suspected plot to target the RAF Fairford air base in Gloucestershire, which the United States military has used for operations against targets in Iran. Police have stressed the Manchester case and the Fairford investigation are not connected. Counter-terrorism police face heightened concern after a series of antisemitic attacks this year, and Laurence Taylor, the head of counter-terrorism policing, said in a statement marking a year since the 2025 synagogue attack: "We continue to see antisemitic sentiment appearing with increasing frequency."

More than 600 flood defence projects are being delivered across England, with tens of thousands of households expected to benefit from better protection against flooding and coastal storms.

Keeping the country moving is the other half of the plan: more than 24bn pounds is committed to local road maintenance over the next four years, and 2.6bn pounds is going through Network Rail to climate-proof rail infrastructure. 33m pounds has already been spent in Durham and 41m pounds across the North West to stabilise embankments and protect against landslips.

DS Pugh, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Keeping people safe and our country moving is the first duty of government.Dan Jarvis, Security Minister

The announcement follows last winter's severe weather, including storms Goretti and Chandra. Officials are watching for a strong El Nino that could make late autumn and early winter wetter and stormier.

The Cabinet Office will also launch a national public awareness campaign later this autumn, giving households practical advice for everyday emergencies including extreme weather. The campaign was designed with more than 5,000 people and 400 partners, including councils, NHS England and the British Red Cross, and will bring Britain into line with almost every other European country.

On energy, network operators will be out doing essential maintenance ahead of winter: small jobs like removing branches and stationing engineers in at-risk areas can prevent big outages when storms strike. After Storm Amy, 99 per cent of electricity customers were reconnected within 24 hours.

Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Dan Jarvis, the Security Minister, said: "Keeping people safe and our country moving is the first duty of government." He added: "Alongside major upgrades to reinforce our flood defences and transport networks, our new household campaign will equip communities with practical guidance to prepare for extreme weather."

The new campaign will sit alongside long-running efforts including Flood Action Week and the Met Office's Weather Ready campaign. In late September, Jarvis visited Leicester to see community-led resilience work that helped shape the Government's approach.

The shares sank to 936.78p at one point, their lowest level since April 2025, and the stock is now down 25 per cent this year.

Ben Brooksbank, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

IG now expects 2026 revenue growth in a mid-single-digit percentage range, down from its previous guidance of growth toward the upper end of a mid-to-high single-digit range. The cut reverses an upgrade in May, when the company had guided for growth of 10 to 15 per cent from a 2025 base of 1.12bn pounds.

Lower Q3 revenue reflected reduced OTC revenue retention in less supportive market conditions.Breon Corcoran, Chief Executive, IG Group

Third-quarter revenue is expected to be about 240m pounds, down 14 per cent on a year earlier, as revenue retention in the OTC business fell to about 70 per cent, below the roughly 80 per cent averaged since the second half of 2025. An RBC Capital Markets note said the lower retention followed a decision to hedge less of the OTC book.

OTC net trading revenue of about 155m pounds was down about 18 per cent, although OTC customer income rose about 8 per cent. Rivals were dragged lower too, with shares in Plus500 and CMC Markets falling sharply. The warning follows plans announced in September to cut a significant number of jobs as part of a reorganisation aimed at improving efficiency.

Acabashi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Breon Corcoran, the chief executive, said: "Lower Q3 revenue reflected reduced OTC revenue retention in less supportive market conditions, and I remain confident in meeting our medium-term guidance."

The company also flagged about 30m pounds of one-off costs this year from redomiciling to Jersey and restructuring, and said its earnings margin before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation would be in the low-40s per cent range, down from 47.3 per cent in 2025.

Analysts had expected 2026 revenue of 1.26bn pounds, an increase of 12 per cent, according to the company-compiled consensus. IG said it remained confident of meeting its medium-term outlook beyond 2026.

Catherine Mann, an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee, said the rise in market interest rates after the outbreak of the Iran war reflected expectations of higher inflation and possibly a "monetary policy uncertainty premium", rather than genuinely tighter financial conditions.

Ben Brooksbank, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

"Against this backdrop, as a monetary policymaker, I cannot take comfort from tighter nominal financial conditions when much of that tightening reflects a higher inflation risk premium and, possibly, a monetary policy uncertainty premium that our own decisions and communications may have contributed to," she said in a speech at the Nomura London Macro Forum in Manchester on Thursday.

In my view, real financial conditions are insufficiently tight.Catherine Mann, Bank of England rate-setter

She traced the premium to the Bank's initial response in March to the outbreak of war in Iran, when it held interest rates with a message that investors perceived as "wait mode", rather than taking the action she said was needed to control inflation.

Robin Sones, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mann, who voted for a rate rise at the Bank's last meeting, said the rise in bond yields was unlikely to cool the economy enough to tame inflation, and signalled she was likely to vote for an increase again when the committee meets next month. "In my view, real financial conditions are insufficiently tight," she said. "The appropriate response is to reduce inflation risk and policy uncertainty through a clearly communicated reaction function and a sufficiently restrictive path for Bank Rate."

The Bank left its key interest rate at 3.75 per cent last month, and investors expect an increase to 4 per cent in November. Annual inflation rose to 3.1 per cent in August from 2.9 per cent in July, well above the Bank's 2 per cent target. Her stance stands in contrast to that of Governor Andrew Bailey, who has said that the rise in market borrowing costs had bought the Bank time to consider whether it needed to raise rates itself.

Officers arrested the man in Westminster on Thursday afternoon and searched two properties in the capital. A 26-year-old British national was also questioned under caution, meaning the interview was recorded and could be used in any future prosecution.

Ian Capper, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Five British men in their 20s, all from London, were arrested in the early hours of Sunday near the Gloucestershire airbase on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offences and were later released on police bail. Police said they found a quantity of petrol in three vans linked to the men, but no explosives.

As we've made clear, we're looking at all possible angles - including possible foreign state involvement.Vicki Evans, Counter Terrorism Policing

Vicki Evans, the senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing, said: "As we've made clear, we're looking at all possible angles - including possible foreign state involvement." She described the investigation as hugely complex, with specialist teams interrogating multiple lines of inquiry.

Vieve Forward, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Prime Minister said on Wednesday that there were "strong indications" that Iran played a part in the incident. Iran has denied any involvement, and on Thursday summoned the British ambassador in Tehran in response to the accusations.

RAF Fairford is used by the United States Air Force, and American strategic bombers have flown missions from the base. The investigation continues and no charges have been announced against any of the six people linked to the inquiry.

Under the plans, airlines operating in the United Kingdom will be required to seat children under the age of 14 with a parent or accompanying adult free of charge. The Government says that, as things stand, a parent and child can be charged up to 104 pounds on a return journey for the privilege of sitting together.

Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Passengers will also be able to correct simple name errors on bookings for free, ending charges of up to 40 pounds for minor mistakes or administrative tweaks. The Government says the reforms will give passengers greater consistency across all airlines operating in the UK.

Charging parents just to sit with their children is a rip-off, plain and simple.Andy Burnham, Prime Minister

Alongside the fee bans, the Government said it is working with airlines and trade unions to create a new system for sharing information on persistently disruptive passengers. More than 1,000 serious disruptive passenger incidents were logged by airlines in 2025, including a mid-air brawl that resulted in a flight being diverted.

Douglaspperkins, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said: "Charging parents just to sit with their children is a rip-off, plain and simple. And being hit with a hefty fee for a simple spelling mistake on a booking form isn't right either. People are fed up with these little charges that add up, so I'm putting a stop to them."

The changes are set to be delivered following Royal Assent of the Civil Aviation Bill, and ministers are understood to be aiming to introduce them before the start of next year's summer holidays. The Government says the reforms will bring British and European air passenger rules more closely into line, giving passengers greater certainty.

Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: "It's clearly unfair to force parents and children as young as three to pay an extra fee just to sit together. Airlines that have separated families are putting profit ahead of passenger peace of mind." The announcement is the latest in the Prime Minister's series of "everyday fixes", and lands the day after the Government's VAT cut on electricity bills took effect on 1 October.

It is Labour's highest share with Survation in nearly two years, the last time being December 2024, five months after Sir Keir Starmer's general election landslide. The Liberal Democrats and Greens were level on 9 per cent each. A separate poll by the More in Common think tank, conducted between 25 and 29 September among 2,041 people, also put Labour first, on 27 per cent, with the Conservatives on 22 per cent and Reform on 21 per cent.

Alan Hughes, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

More in Common's Luke Tryl said Reform's 21 per cent was the party's lowest figure in that polling series for more than 18 months. Both pollsters' fieldwork overlapped Labour's conference, and in Survation's case fell on the day Andy Burnham delivered his keynote speech. The pollsters cautioned that the results are a snapshot, not a forecast, and do not show whether the speech itself moved voters.

Labour's highest share with Survation in nearly two years.Daily Herald

Survation also published instant reaction polling on the Prime Minister's speech. It found that 55 per cent of the public had seen or heard something about the speech in the hours afterwards, and that a majority of them had a positive impression, giving a net positive score of 32 points. Among those who had seen or heard something, half named the changes to the pensions triple lock as the most significant announcement, with about one in five naming the new national care service.

Smuconlaw, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The findings continue a turnaround in Labour's fortunes since Burnham replaced Starmer as leader in July. Survation noted the party is now ten points above its lowest share, recorded in February. Burnham moved last week to dampen speculation about an early election, insisting the country will not go to the polls until 2029.

Labour Home, reporting the two polls, offered a note of caution: the surveys agree Labour is in first place but differ on the order of the next two parties, a reminder that individual polls are estimates, not election results, and that their figures should not be combined into a single ranking.

The flat rate applies to all vaping liquids, whether or not they contain nicotine. HMRC said it is a commercial decision for businesses whether the cost of the duty is passed on to retailers and consumers. To put the rate in context, a 10ml refill bottle will carry 2.20 pounds in duty, while a 2ml pod will carry 44p.

Alongside the duty, HMRC has launched the Vaping Duty Stamps Scheme. Duty stamps will begin appearing on retail packaging from today, and the Government says that once fully rolled out they will provide digital traceability through the supply chain, helping legitimate businesses and the fight against illicit trade. A six-month grace period allows wholesalers and retailers to sell existing eligible unstamped stock until 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027, every vaping product sold in the UK must carry a valid duty stamp.

Tilman2007, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Our new measures will help get illicit vapes off high streets across the country.James Murray, Financial Secretary to the Treasury

James Murray, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said: "Our new measures will help get illicit vapes off high streets across the country. We're backing all those retailers who play by the rules by making it easier for law enforcement agencies to take action against those who don't."

Tobacco duty has also risen today, by 2.20 pounds per 100 cigarettes or 50 grams of tobacco on top of the standard duty escalator, to preserve the financial incentive for smokers to switch to vaping. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that the vaping duty will raise more than 550 million pounds a year by 2030-31.

Stefan De Wit, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The industry warned the duty would hit adults who have given up cigarettes. John Dunne, director general of the UK Vaping Industry Association, said: "The immediate impact of the Vaping Products Duty will be to make vaping significantly more expensive for millions of adults, including people who have switched completely away from cigarettes." The campaign group ASH estimates that around 5.5 million people vape in the UK, roughly one in ten adults.

The Government is investing 30 million pounds of new funding each year until 2028-29 for Trading Standards, Border Force and HMRC to tackle illicit and underage sales of tobacco and vapes. Travellers arriving in Great Britain can bring up to 50ml of vaping liquid for personal use without paying duty and tax.

The Metropolitan Police said the arrests followed a months-long investigation by specialist detectives working alongside HMRC and the Financial Conduct Authority. Officers from HMRC and the FCA supported the searches, and searches were continuing at a number of properties.

Mike Peel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

As part of the wider operation, the FCA has disrupted seven firms and is actively pursuing a further 30, the Met said. The financial regulator said joint action was key to disrupting groups "who abuse our financial system to launder dirty money".

These arrests mark a significant point in this investigation.Metropolitan Police

A police spokesperson said: "These arrests mark a significant point in this investigation. Those arrested are suspected of leading or being involved at a senior level in serious and organised crime and related financial offending." The 17 held, 15 men aged between 26 and 65 and two women aged 31 and 41, were arrested on suspicion of participating in the activities of an organised crime group, money laundering, cheating the public revenue, false accounting, and conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.

Acabashi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

An officer taking part in the operation was stabbed in the leg while executing a warrant at an address in Cockfosters, Barnet. He was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital, where his injuries were assessed as non-life-changing. A 56-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm in connection with the stabbing.

The Met said searches were ongoing and that a police presence was expected to continue at a number of the properties for some days. The arrests followed a months-long investigation, and the operation combined conventional organised crime powers with action against the financial firms suspected of moving the proceeds.

The plans would give the Secretary of State new legislative powers to cap permission fees, the charges levied when a leaseholder needs landlord consent for routine requests such as keeping a pet or changing a front door, as well as administrative charges such as fees for providing building safety certificates or for notifying a landlord of a change of mortgage provider.

Evelyn Simak, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Government said the measures would support more than five million existing leaseholders and future homeowners. They would apply both to leaseholders and to homeowners on privately managed estates, where residents can face similar charges for minor alterations to their properties.

We will legislate for an independent regulator to rein these cowboys in.Angela Rayner, Housing Secretary

Rayner told the conference she had heard of leaseholders being charged 250 pounds for permission to own a pet and 400 pounds to change a front door. She said: "We will legislate for an independent regulator to rein these cowboys in."

The proposed regulator would set standards of conduct and complaint handling requirements for property agents, and would oversee a licensing system. Agents would be required to hold a licence and appropriate qualifications, and the regulator would have the power to take licences away from those who fall foul of the required standards.

David Howard, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The announcement goes further than the Government's previous home buying and selling roadmap. A Regulation of Property Agents working group chaired by Lord Best had already recommended an independent regulator, a mandatory and legally enforceable code of practice, and minimum qualification requirements in 2019.

A public consultation will now be launched on which fees should be capped and at what level. Critics cautioned that the measures do not address the underlying system. One campaigner said an administration fee cap was welcome but "a drop in the ocean" compared with the thousands of pounds some leaseholders are forced to pay. The Government has separately pledged to abolish leasehold, and in January announced that ground rents would be capped at 250 pounds a year from 2028.

Oast House Archive, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The industry asked for more and got less than it wanted but more than the regulator first proposed. Thames Water, which wanted a 53 per cent rise, was allowed 35. The settlement is, by any measure, generous: a quadrupling of enhancement spending, nine new reservoirs, a 45 per cent cut in storm overflow spills by 2030.

What the companies cannot now say is that they lacked the money. The claw-back mechanism means unspent investment must be returned to customers. The fines, 18.2 million pounds for Thames Water's dividends alone, show the regulator is willing to use its teeth.

N Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The only justification for it is delivery.Daily Herald

The Consumer Council for Water warns that bills will rise 53 per cent after inflation by 2030 and that two in five customers already found the increases unaffordable. That is the political context in which every future pollution incident will now be judged: customers are paying for improvement, and they will expect to see it.

This newspaper's view is simple. The settlement is fair to the companies and hard on households. The only justification for it is delivery: cleaner rivers, fewer spills, secure supplies, and an end to the era when dividends flowed and investment did not. If the companies fail this test, the argument for a different ownership model will become unanswerable.

The average household bill will rise by 31 pounds a year, 157 pounds in total over the period. Ofwat allowed more than its draft proposals but less than the 40 per cent average rise the companies had requested.

N Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The settlement is aimed at the industry's twin failures: pollution and underinvestment. Nearly 12 billion pounds is earmarked to cut spills from storm overflows by 45 per cent by 2030, from 2021 levels, and 30 major infrastructure projects, including nine new reservoirs, are to strengthen drought resilience.

Customers will rightly expect the companies to show they can deliver significant improvement over time to justify the increase in bills.David Black, Ofwat

Crisis-hit Thames Water, which had sought a 53 per cent rise, was permitted 35 per cent. The company was separately fined 18.2 million pounds after Ofwat found its dividend payments breached its licence conditions.

Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A new claw-back mechanism is meant to answer the oldest complaint in the industry: money not spent on promised investment must be returned to customers through lower bills. Ofwat has also doubled support for customers who cannot pay.

The Consumer Council for Water welcomed the protections but warned that average bills will rise 53 per cent after inflation by 2030, and that two in five customers had already found the proposed increases unaffordable.

Customers will rightly expect the companies to show they can deliver significant improvement over time to justify the increase in bills, Ofwat's chief executive David Black said. The money is approved. The trust must now be earned.

The reorganisation is meant to deliver additional capacity so that, by the end of 2031, no patient waits more than 26 weeks for treatment. Health board boundaries and bureaucracies have long been blamed for variation in care; whether two super-boards cure that is the central gamble.

On housing, the Government confirmed a target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, at least 70 per cent for social rent and 10 per cent in rural and island communities, backed by up to 4.9 billion pounds of investment including 4.1 billion of public funding. A new national agency, More Homes Scotland, will be phased in from April 2027.

Colin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Programmes for Government are easy to announce and hard to deliver.Daily Herald

The legislative programme is ambitious: nine Bills in 2026-27, including a Misogyny (Criminal Law) (Scotland) Bill to tackle violence against women and girls, a Council Tax (Scotland) Bill, and a Food Prices (Scotland) Bill.

For households, the plan promises national breakfast clubs in all primary schools from August 2027, childcare support 52 weeks a year for children from nine months old to the end of primary school by 2031, the Scottish Child Payment raised to 40 pounds a week for eligible babies under one during 2027-28, and 205 million pounds in winter heating payments.

The 2 pound bus fare cap, currently in the Highlands and Islands, extends to the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport area, with a national roll-out promised by the end of the Parliament. The number of quangos will be substantially reduced.

Dave Pickersgill, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Programmes for Government are easy to announce and hard to deliver. Swinney has given himself five years and staked his Government's credibility on public service reform. Scotland will judge him on waiting lists, housebuilding, and whether the two new health boards are anything more than a new letterhead.

On defence, the partnership is the most concrete achievement: a structured foreign-policy dialogue, cooperation across security domains, and a path toward British participation in the EU's SAFE joint defence procurement programme. The terms of that participation, including any budget contribution, are still to be settled.

Smuconlaw, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On trade, the centrepiece is the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement to ease agri-food trade: fewer checks and certifications for British exporters, from meat to cheese to shellfish. The Government said the reforms could add 9 billion pounds to the economy by 2040. The price is dynamic alignment with EU food standards and, on disputes over EU law, the European Court of Justice as final arbiter.

The reset is real, but it is a beginning, not a settlement.Daily Herald

Fishing, the perennial irritant, was settled for a generation: full reciprocal access to waters until 30 June 2038. Energy cooperation was extended on a permanent basis.

What remains negotiation is almost as long as what was agreed: a youth mobility scheme, UK association with the Erasmus+ programme, participation in the EU's internal electricity market, and the linking of emissions trading systems.

Ben Brooksbank, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The politics are unchanged in one respect: the reset revives the oldest Brexit argument, whether Britain is becoming a rule-taker. Ministers insist the partnership serves the national interest; critics see alignment without a vote.

Judged as diplomacy, the summit moved the relationship from managed antagonism to structured cooperation. Judged as economics, the dividend is prospective. The reset is real, but it is a beginning, not a settlement.

The reform completes a process begun by the House of Lords Act 1999, which removed all but 92 hereditary peers under a cross-party compromise, with vacancies among those 92 filled by by-elections. The Starmer government introduced the new bill in September 2024 to fulfil a manifesto commitment.

Herry Lawford, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Seventy-seven hereditary peers left the House at the end of the session: the 76 excepted peers eligible to sit, and one excepted peer on leave of absence. Three of those sitting as hereditaries, the Earl of Kinnoull, Lord Addington and Earl Russell, already held life peerages and continued uninterrupted. Some of the excluded peers have since returned to the House as life peers.

For the first time in centuries, no one sits in Parliament simply because of who their father was.Daily Herald

The passage was not smooth. The Lords amended the bill at report and third reading in July 2025; the Commons disagreed with most of the amendments that September; and the Lords did not insist the following March, after the Government agreed an allocation of life peerages for the Opposition and the crossbenchers, whose work had relied heavily on the experience of hereditary peers.

What changed is the principle: no one now legislates by right of birth. What did not change is the method of selection. The House remains appointed, the Prime Minister's power of patronage is untouched, and the wider reform programme, a retirement age and a cap on numbers, remains unfinished business.

Alan Hughes, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Critics of the reform argue that removing the hereditaries without addressing the appointed majority leaves the democratic question exactly where it was. Supporters reply that ending election by birth was the necessary first step, and that a wholly appointed House is at least honest about what it is.

The chamber will look much the same. The red benches remain, the rituals continue, and the work of scrutiny goes on. But for the first time in centuries, no one sits in Parliament simply because of who their father was.

The regulator's modelling suggests only a moderate improvement ahead, with 41 per cent still expected in deficit in 2026-27. One in six institutions has fewer than 30 days' liquidity. The OfS says providers have been persistently over-optimistic about student recruitment, particularly international students.

Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The sector's 2024-25 outturns were better than feared, a 0.9 billion pound surplus on 48.1 billion of income. But the structural pressures remain: the real-terms value of the fee has fallen, costs have risen, and international recruitment has softened after years of tightening visa policy.

Some specialist arts provision was no longer financially sustainable.Christopher Malish, Bradford College

The sharpest pain is falling on colleges. The OfS's 2026-27 allocations cut further education colleges' recurrent funding by 2.72 million pounds, 9.3 per cent, more than twice as fast as the sector average. Bradford College lost 64.9 per cent of its allocation, 223,600 pounds.

The Government has required the OfS to stop general high-cost subject funding for computing, nursing, geographical systems, archaeology and creative and performing arts. A 32.1 million pound supplement for nursing, midwifery and allied health courses remains. Bradford's deputy chief executive Christopher Malish said some specialist arts provision was no longer financially sustainable and would have to be reviewed and in some cases closed.

IntGrah, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The fee rise bought time, not a settlement. With the Treasury facing its own constraints ahead of the Budget, further help from the public purse looks unlikely.

The result is a slow-motion restructuring of English higher education: mergers talked about in corridors, courses closed quietly, and students paying more for institutions with less to spend. The question is no longer whether the model changes, but how, and who decides.

The six: The End of Everything by M. John Harrison; The Disappearers by Marlon James; Black Bag by Luke Kennard; May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry; The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout; and John of John by Douglas Stuart.

Tarquin Binary, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Marlon James won in 2015 with A Brief History of Seven Killings; Douglas Stuart won in 2020 with Shuggie Bain. Either could join the small club of double winners. M. John Harrison, 81 and shortlisted for the first time, would be the oldest winner in the prize's history; the record is held by Margaret Atwood, who won at 79.

Moving, pacey, funny, violent, intriguing, horrifying and hopeful.The Booker Prize judges

The judges, chaired by Mary Beard with Raymond Antrobus, Jarvis Cocker, Rebecca Liu and Patricia Lockwood, read everything published in the UK and Ireland between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026, longlisting 13 in July before settling on six.

Vis M, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The jury's statement promises range: spanning dystopian fiction to contemporary realism, campus satire to historical fiction, the shortlisted books explore what it means to be human in an ever-changing world. The books are, the judges say, moving, pacey, funny, violent, intriguing, horrifying and hopeful.

The ceremony is at Old Billingsgate on 9 November. The winner takes 50,000 pounds; each shortlisted author receives 2,500. Last year David Szalay won for Flesh.

The Booker matters because it still moves books: a shortlisting transforms sales, and a win transforms a career. For six weeks, the literary conversation has its agenda. The only certainty is that someone will call it the wrong six.

This newspaper believes the Chancellor should break the ritual. The public finances are under strain, the tax burden is at a historic high, and the demands on the state keep growing. Pretending otherwise helps no one.

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Honesty would mean saying plainly what the choices are. If the Government wants European levels of public services, it must levy European levels of tax. If it wants lower taxes, it must say which services will shrink. The middle ground, where services are promised and taxes are hidden, is where trust goes to die.

If the Government wants European levels of public services, it must levy European levels of tax.Daily Herald

The small print has become the real Budget. Freezes to thresholds, stealthy allowance changes and fiscal drag do the heavy lifting while ministers talk about not raising headline rates. Voters are not fooled; they simply grow more cynical.

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A Budget that levelled with the country would be a political risk. But the greater risk is the slow erosion of faith in the idea that government can be straight with people. That faith, once lost, is hard to recover.

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The British Museum's autumn season continues its run of ambitious shows. The museum's Great Court remains one of the city's great public spaces, and its special exhibitions draw visitors from around the world.

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At the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, the autumn programme offers the usual mix of blockbuster loans and collection redisplays. The gallery's free permanent collection remains one of London's great cultural bargains.

Booking ahead is advisable for the biggest shows, where timed tickets sell out.Daily Herald

Tate Britain, home of the national collection of British art, has a characteristically strong autumn line-up. The gallery's programme spans five centuries of British creativity.

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For Impressionist lovers, the season is a reminder of London's riches. Renoir's Bal du moulin de la Galette, painted in 1876, captures a Parisian dance hall in full swing and remains one of the most beloved works of the period.

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Booking ahead is advisable for the biggest shows, where timed tickets and weekend slots sell out. Many galleries offer free entry to their permanent collections, with charges only for special exhibitions.

Inflation has remained above the Bank of England's 2 per cent target, borrowing costs are elevated, and growth has been sluggish. The Chancellor faces the familiar pre-Budget pressure: to demonstrate fiscal discipline while finding room for the Government's priorities.

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Speculation in Westminster has centred on whether the Chancellor will adjust fiscal rules, raise revenue through targeted tax changes, or extend freezes to personal allowances. The Treasury has declined to comment on specific measures, as is customary before a Budget.

The OBR's forecasts will determine how much headroom, if any, the Chancellor has.Daily Herald

The Office for Budget Responsibility will publish its economic and fiscal outlook alongside the statement, providing independent forecasts for growth, inflation, borrowing and debt. Those forecasts will determine how much headroom, if any, the Chancellor has.

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Opposition parties have already begun setting out their lines of attack. The Conservatives have accused the Government of planning tax rises by stealth, while the Liberal Democrats have called for action on the cost of living.

Business groups will be watching for measures affecting employer costs, investment allowances and business rates. The CBI and the Federation of Small Businesses have both published pre-Budget submissions calling for stability and incentives for investment.

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The Daily Herald will provide full coverage of the Budget statement, including analysis of what the measures mean for households, businesses and the public finances.

Demand is rising as the population ages. The number of people over 85 is growing fast, and with it the need for domiciliary care, residential care and support for dementia. Funding has not kept pace.

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The result is a system that too often fails at the point of greatest need. Hospital patients fit for discharge wait for care packages. Unpaid carers, many of them elderly themselves, fill the gaps at enormous personal cost.

The politics of asking voters to pay more for care have defeated every attempt at reform.Daily Herald

Successive governments have promised reform and shelved it. The Dilnot Commission's proposals for a cap on care costs were legislated but never implemented. The politics of asking voters to pay more for care have defeated every attempt.

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Ahead of the Budget, a levy to fund social care has been floated again in policy circles. Whether the Chancellor will touch it remains to be seen; the Treasury is wary of any new tax that could be presented as a broken promise.

Care leaders say the Budget must at minimum address the immediate funding gap facing councils this winter. Without it, they warn, more providers will fail and more families will be left without support.

Rightmove's house price index showed asking prices little changed on the month, with the property portal reporting that activity was subdued as buyers waited for clarity on tax and spending measures.

Halifax's separate index, based on mortgage approvals, has similarly pointed to a market treading water, with annual price growth modest and regional variation pronounced.

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Buyers are waiting for clarity on tax and spending measures.Daily Herald

Estate agents say the top end of the market in London remains sensitive to speculation about tax changes, while first-time buyer activity has been supported by a modest easing in mortgage rates from their peaks.

New-build developers have reported steady reservation rates, though the construction of new homes remains well below the Government's targets.

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Economists expect the market to remain subdued until there is greater clarity on the economic outlook and the path of interest rates.

The latest referral-to-treatment data shows millions of patients waiting for planned care. The Government has pledged to bring waiting times down, but progress has been slow and uneven across trusts.

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Emergency departments face their own pressures. Ambulance handover delays and corridor care have become persistent features of winter, and health leaders warn that this year will be no different without additional capacity.

Delayed discharges remain a major driver of bed occupancy.Daily Herald

The annual flu vaccination campaign is under way, with the NHS urging eligible groups to come forward. Uptake among older people and health workers will be closely watched as an early indicator of winter resilience.

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Health think tanks say the service needs sustained investment in community care and social care to relieve pressure on hospitals. Delayed discharges, where patients fit to leave cannot be sent home for lack of care packages, remain a major driver of bed occupancy.

NHS England has said winter planning is further advanced than last year, with more same-day emergency care and virtual wards. Whether that is enough will become clear in January.

The decision was widely expected by economists polled ahead of the announcement. Markets had priced in a hold after inflation data showed price pressures proving more persistent than hoped.

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In its statement, the Committee said it would continue to monitor the evolution of inflation persistence and would not cut rates until it was confident that inflation was on a sustained path back to target.

Policy must stay restrictive for long enough to return inflation to 2 per cent.Bank of England

The hold keeps borrowing costs elevated for households and businesses. Mortgage holders on variable rates and those remortgaging will continue to face higher monthly payments than they were used to before rates began rising.

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Economists are divided on when the first cut might come. Some expect the Committee to move once there is clearer evidence that wage growth is cooling; others think rates could stay on hold well into next year.

The Bank's next decision will be accompanied by its Monetary Policy Report, with updated forecasts for growth, inflation and unemployment.