UK

Let’s start with a tale of two charts. Or rather, one chart. Be warned: it’s not a pretty chart. It shows how average household disposable income changed each year since 1955 and for the most part it’s a story of progress. As the years have gone on, we have seen our disposable incomes rise in

The UK’s economic outlook will be “challenging” for the next two years, Jeremy Hunt says. The chancellor presented his autumn statement to parliament on Thursday, littered with stealth taxes and curbs on government spending amounting to £55bn in an attempt to plug the black hole in the public finances. But the independent Office for Budget

All the main announcements as chancellor Jeremy Hunt reveals his autumn statement to MPs: • He told the Commons in his opening remarks: “In the face of unprecedented global headwinds, families, pensioners, businesses, teachers, nurses and many others are worried about the future. So today we deliver a plan to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and

Iran has made at least 10 threats this year to kidnap or kill people in the UK deemed as “enemies of the regime”, the head of MI5 has revealed. Ken McCallum also warned the UK must be ready for more aggression from Russia, saying that over 100 suspected Russian spies have been refused entry to

There has been a higher than expected leap in the rate of inflation, to a 41-year high of 11.1% last month, led by the latest rise in energy bills. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the increase, from 10.1% in September, as the cost of light and heating for homes rose further despite help

A two-year-old boy died as a result of extensive mould in his flat, which a surveyor described as “unfit for human habitation”, an inquest has concluded. Awaab Ishak died shortly after his second birthday on 21 December 2020. Coroner Joanne Kearsley found that he “died as a result of a severe respiratory condition caused due

Rishi Sunak will meet the Chinese president on Wednesday after declaring that his country poses a “systemic challenge” to the values and interests of the UK. Mr Sunak will become the first prime minister to meet Xi Jinping face to face in almost five years when he meets him at the G20 summit in Indonesia.

The chief constable of South Yorkshire Police has promised to “root out” sexual abusers from the force after meeting a woman who claimed in a Sky News interview she was raped by a police officer as a child.  Chief Constable Lauren Poultney commended Leona Whitworth’s bravery for speaking out and said her counter-corruption officers would

Rishi Sunak has said getting a grip on illegal migration is the “absolute priority” for his government as he kicks off his G20 summit with a new joint declaration with France to try to tackle record numbers of small boat crossings. The prime minister told journalists on the flight over to Bali that illegal migration

Home Secretary Suella Braverman will travel to Paris to sign a new joint declaration with French officials to ramp up efforts to stop migrant crossings in the Channel. The home secretary will sign the agreement with French interior minister Gerald Darmanin on Monday morning. According to the Financial Times, the agreement will significantly increase the

Jeremy Hunt has said everyone is going to be paying higher taxes but those who earn the most will have to make larger sacrifices. The chancellor told the Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme during Thursday’s autumn statement he “will be asking everyone for sacrifices” but recognises there is “only so much we can ask” from

Thousands of migrants passing through the Manston processing centre will be vaccinated against diphtheria after dozens of cases of the highly contagious disease were confirmed in England, health authorities have said. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said it is moving with the Home Office to vaccinate migrants at the centre after it revealed on

Five days after being smuggled into the UK in a lorry, Albanian Iva Memaj dialled the Home Office’s freephone number to claim asylum. “I feel very excited for my future,” she told us. “I feel safe here.” Iva said she ran from the lorry when it got to England, hid and was then picked up

A court has ruled for the first time that a man arrested on a COVID ward in Scotland is an American rape suspect who faked his own death. The court sheriff decided that the man calling himself Arthur Knight is in fact Nicholas Rossi. Sheriff Norman McFadyen said: “I am ultimately satisfied on the balance

A Just Stop Oil campaigner has defended protests blocking the M25 for a fourth day, warning that “this is just the beginning”. In a fiery exchange with Sky News’ Mark Austin, Indigo Rumbelow insisted the climate crisis is set to get “worse and worse and worse unless we act.” Appearing on The News Hour With

The UK economy contracted by 0.2% in the third quarter, early official figures show – prompting the chancellor to warn that the “tough road ahead” will require “extremely difficult decisions”. The figure marked the first step towards recession. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a dip in output for September, leaving gross domestic product

Food banks are being driven to “breaking point” with almost 1.3 million emergency parcels given to people in just over six months, a leading charity has said. Almost half a million of the food parcels given out went to children. The Trussell Trust issued a stark warning after new research showed record-breaking levels of need,

A police officer has been injured in a collision involving two lorries while responding to Just Stop Oil protests taking place on the M25. Essex Police said one person has been arrested for causing a public nuisance for protesting on the motorway, though the cause of the accident is unclear. The force said a police

A nursing union representing hundreds of thousands of nurses has voted to hold the first nationwide strike in its 106-year history. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the strike will affect the majority of NHS employers in the UK as nurses take action against pay levels and patient safety concerns. The union said that

Sir Gavin Williamson has resigned from government over accusations of bullying, saying he will “clear my name of any wrongdoing”. His departure came shortly after an ex-civil servant, who claimed Sir Gavin told them to “slit your throat”, made a formal complaint against the Cabinet Office minister. In his resignation letter shared on Twitter, Sir