Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been urged to avoid “directionless tinkering and half-baked fixes” as she prepares to unveil next month’s Budget, with a leading economic think tank warning that poorly designed tax increases could damage growth.

A 43-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the deaths of two young children in Stafford, Staffordshire Police have confirmed. The victims, identified as Meraj Ul Zahra, aged two, and Abdul Momin Alfaateh, aged three, were found unresponsive at a property on Corporation Street around 7:30am on Sunday. Paramedics from the West Midlands Ambulance Service attended the scene but both children were pronounced dead shortly after their…

Charities across the UK have reported a sharp rise in abuse, intimidation, and threats of violence towards staff and beneficiaries, which was attributed to increasingly toxic political rhetoric on immigration and race. Organisations supporting refugees, asylum seekers, ethnic minorities, women, and vulnerable groups say they have faced racist graffiti, physical assaults, and threats of rape and murder. Many have been forced to install security measures, including safe rooms, security guards,…

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is preparing to build greater fiscal headroom in her upcoming November budget, aiming to protect the UK economy from turbulence in global bond markets. Treasury sources confirmed that Reeves wants to strengthen the government’s position against her self-imposed fiscal rules, which require taxes and day-to-day spending to be balanced within five years. In last autumn’s budget and March’s spring statement, Reeves met that rule with just £10bn…

Police in Staffordshire have launched a murder investigation following the tragic deaths of two children at a home in Stafford. According to Staffordshire Police, officers were called to a property in the town at around 7:30am on Sunday after receiving a report from the West Midlands Ambulance Service. Emergency responders arrived swiftly, but despite their efforts, two children were pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have not yet released the…

Convicted Fraudster seeks family Visa after remarrying former child bride. A Pakistani man previously jailed for a sham marriage to a schoolgirl is seeking to return to the United Kingdom after remarrying the same woman , now an adult  in Pakistan. According to a report by The Telegraph, Nasir Khalil, who was convicted nine years ago for deceiving a 16-year-old Slovakian girl into coming to Britain for a Muslim wedding ceremony,…

The UK Government has published a list of 82 mid-skilled occupations that will qualify for temporary work visas under its new Temporary Shortage List (TSL) scheme, aimed at addressing labour gaps across key sectors. The list, detailed in the Temporary Shortage List: Stage 1 Report (October 2025), follows recommendations from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) and marks a significant shift in the country’s post-Brexit immigration policy. The move comes months…

By Eniola Amadu Plaid Cymru has pledged to provide free childcare for all children aged nine months to four years if it forms the next Welsh government. Party leader Rhun ap Iorwerth announced the plan during Plaid’s annual conference in Swansea, saying the “transformative” policy would offer at least 20 hours of free childcare a week for 48 weeks each year by 2031. He said it would give families “a…

Responding to the criticism, Gray said junior doctors had been offered a 4.25 per cent pay increase for 2025/26 and a further 3.75 per cent the following year. 

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has defended proposals that could see children as young as 13 required to have a digital ID, saying the move reflects modern realities where most young people already use forms of online identification. Speaking to the media, Cooper was asked about the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s ongoing consultation on the proposal. She said the government was doing the right thing by moving toward a…

By Eniola Amadu Councils across London will receive £36.5m in government funding to help combat homelessness this winter, amid record numbers of people and families living without stable housing. According to London Councils, one in 50 Londoners is homeless, with a growing number of children now in temporary accommodation. The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said the new funding would target both rough sleeping and families facing…

Car manufacturers including Ford, Hyundai and BMW are facing multibillion-pound payouts to customers after the UK’s financial watchdog said the industry could be liable for nearly half of an £11bn compensation bill linked to the car finance scandal. According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), captive lenders, the finance arms of carmakers may have to pay about 47% of the total redress, or roughly £5.2bn, to drivers who were overcharged…