Evening Briefing: Tuesday 29 September 2026
- Your pension: The triple lock goes from April 2030. The earnings link is removed and the state pension will then rise by prices or 2.5%, whichever is higher. Nothing changes before the next election.
- Your care bill: The savings fund a National Care Service, free at the point of use, with no care charges taken from the basic state pension. Preparation starts now; the service arrives next Parliament.
- Fuel: Brent fell 1.3% to $103.95 as Qatari mediation continued, giving back this morning’s rise. Washington’s formal answer to Iran still has not arrived.
Washington's Answer Fails to Arrive and Araghchi Flies Home
The formal American response to Iran’s seven-day plan did not come. Abbas Araghchi left New York saying he expected it by the end of the day, while Qatar now hopes to deliver it tomorrow. He also shut down talk of movement: “I state firmly…
Iran's Chief Negotiator: 'No Infrastructure Will Remain Safe'
As Tehran waited for the American answer, its parliament speaker and chief negotiator put the threat in the plainest terms yet. “In a region where we cannot sell oil, no one else will sell oil either,” said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, “or if…
Zelensky Says Another Ten Thousand North Koreans Are Being Prepared
More than eight thousand North Korean troops are already on Russian territory and a further ten thousand are being selected for training and deployment, the Ukrainian president said, citing new military intelligence. Kyiv was struck again…
Hungary Lifts the Immunity of Its Prime Minister and Two Ministers
Parliament voted 139 to nil to strip Prime Minister Péter Magyar of immunity, along with two ministers who served under Viktor Orbán. Magyar asked for his own to be lifted, over an allegation he threw a man’s phone into the Danube in June…
Myanmar Air Strike Toll Rises to Fifty as More Bodies Found
Rescuers recovered more dead through Tuesday from the market at Kyauktaw, taking the toll from Monday’s air strike to fifty killed and at least fifty-eight wounded. The rebel group that holds the town said the military “deliberately target…
Burnham Scraps the Pensions Triple Lock From 2030
The Prime Minister went further than his own briefing, confirming the earnings link will be removed from April 2030 and replaced by a double lock of prices or 2.5%. “The state pension will continue to rise every year, at least by prices or…
Burnham Opens the Door to Scrapping First Past the Post
The Prime Minister told the conference Britain’s voting system is not fit for purpose and announced a national commission on electoral reform, drawing a standing ovation. He stopped short of committing to abolish first past the post. He ha…
Ban on Public Ownership of Water Companies to Be Lifted
The government will end the prohibition on taking water companies into public ownership, opening the way to nationalising firms that do not “serve the public interest”. Councils will separately be given power to take over poor-quality home…
Fairford Residents Return Home as Rubio Alleges a Foreign Hand
The eighty-five households evacuated on Sunday have been told they can go home, though the cordon around the three vans stays in place. No one has been charged, no suspect named and no motive given. The American secretary of state went fur…
Police Open a Dedicated Enquiry Team Over the Drumcree Blockade
A third day brought no resolution, but the policing posture hardened. An assistant chief constable confirmed a dedicated enquiry team is reviewing evidence from Sunday, when more than a thousand people blocked a route the courts had cleare…