38 h. ago From Rachel Reeves’s fiscal rules to sitting down in new jeans: Edith Pritchett’s week in Venn diagrams – cartoon

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Politics

4 d. ago BBC loses £1.1billion as millions of homes refuse to pay the licence fee amid 'bias' storm

The BBC lost more £1.1billion last year as a one in eight households refused to pay the licence fee. While 3.6million households simply said they did not want to use the BBC's services.

Economics

8 d. ago Rachel Reeves's stealth tax will cost working families more than £1,000 as Chancellor plots 'smorgasbord' of smaller increases

The Chancellor's plan to freeze income tax thresholds for a further two years will cost higher-earning couples as much as £1,300 in tax and National Insurance, analysis has found.

Economics

1 week ago Labour housing chief of borough where Rachel Reeves broke landlord rules resigns after making exactly the same mistake

Michael Situ has quit as the Cabinet Member for Housing at Southwark Council after failing to obtain licences to rent out two properties he owns in Peckham.

Politics

1 week ago London council housing boss resigns over landlord licence blunder that Rachel Reeves also made

Southwark Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Michael Situ, admitted he did not obtain the correct permissions to let out his Peckham properties

Politics

1 week ago Inspector gadget Q has a licence to thrill: Quantum of Menace by Vaseem Khan, The Burning Grounds by Abir Mukherjee, The House on Buzzards Bay by Dwyer Murphy

Geoffrey Wansell reviews the best crime fiction

Events

1 week ago Households set to receive £174 BBC TV licence refund after boss resigns

UK households are set to receive refunds of up to £174 from TV Licensing following the unexpected resignation of director general Tim Davie and BBC News head Deborah Turness.

Economics

2 w. ago BBC licence fee 2026 update: New annual fee predicted as thousands stop paying

An additional 300,000 households have stopped paying the licence fee in the last 12 months

Politics

3 w. ago Rachel Reeves’s 5% VAT cut on electricity bills will backfire, experts say

Critics believe cut would mostly benefit better-off people with larger homes and increase carbon emissionsProposals being considered by Rachel Reeves to cut tax on electricity bills will backfire, experts have warned, resulting in a giveaway to richer homeowners and undermining the UK’s climate commitments.The chancellor is understood to be looking at plans to eliminate the 5% VAT charge on electricity bills as a fast and simple way to reduce bills for consumers and ease the cost of living pressures that have aided the rise of Reform UK. Continue reading...

Science

3 w. ago Rachel Reeves's workplace pension plot: Chancellor warned against 'reckless' £4billion raid on salary sacrifice schemes

The Labour Chancellor is said to be plotting to remove tax breaks offered to employers and staff that pay money into workplace pensions as she looks to plug a multi billion black hole in public finances.

Economics

3 w. ago Revealed: The emails at the centre of the Rachel Reeves housing law breach furore

Emails between the Chancellor’s husband and a letting agency show they were made aware that a licence would be needed to rent out their family home in Dulwich

Politics

3 w. ago Humiliation for Rachel Reeves as she admits she DID know she needed a licence after Daily Mail revealed the Chancellor broke rental law

There were growing calls for the Chancellor to be sacked following an extraordinary day of contradictory statements.

Society

3 w. ago Humiliation for Rachel Reeves as she admits she DID know she needed a licence after Daily Mail revealed the Chancellor broke the law over house rental

The Chancellor was on the ropes with calls for her to be sacked following an extraordinary day of contradictory statements.

Society

3 w. ago Rachel Reeves latest: Key emails from estate agent in chancellor’s rental licence row published

The PM is thought to have become aware of the messages on Thursday

Politics

3 w. ago Estate agents used by Reeves did not apply for licence on her behalf as agreed

The Chancellor admitted to mistakenly breaching housing rules by failing to obtain a rental licence for her family home

Politics

3 w. ago Reeves says she should have checked rental licence had been obtained as letting agent apologises – UK politics live

No 10 releases redacted emails between Reeves’ husband and letting agentRachel Reeves’ rental error: standards adviser looking at new informationRobert Peston, ITV’s political editor, says he thinks it is a mistake for the Conservatives to be saying Rachel Reeves should have to resign over the rental licence error. He explains why in a post on social media. Here is an extract.Kemi Badenoch’s call for Starmer to sack Reeves, for failing to register her family home when she rented it on moving to Downing Street, lowers the bar quite significantly for sackable offences by ministers. I am not certain all her shadow cabinet colleagues will thank her.The point is that there is a clear distinction between Rayner’s failure to take stamp duty advice and Reeves’s failure to register her home with the council for rent. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Starmer has received ‘new information’ about Reeves’ rental arrangements – No 10

Emails sent and received by the Chancellor’s husband have been passed to the Prime Minister.

Politics

3 w. ago Rachel Reeves' husband's emails spark probe into illegal letting scandal

A Downing Street spokesman said: 'Following a review of emails sent and received by the Chancellor's husband, new information has come to light.'

Events

3 w. ago Rachel Reeves's husband emails to be published today amid rental house licence row

Downing Street insisted that the Prime Minister still retains confidence in his Chancellor and guaranteed Ms Reeves will deliver the Budget on November 26

Society

3 w. ago Rental licensing rules explained after Rachel Reeves’ property error

Here are the rules and the possible consequences of not having the right licence

Society