Morning Briefing: Saturday 31 October 2026
- If you hold savings outside an ISA or let out property: from 6 April 2027 the tax on that income rises to 24%, 44% or 49% depending on your band — four points above the rates on earnings. The official estimate is that about 12% of taxpayers pay an average of £113 a year more, and that a basic-rate taxpayer would need over £150,000 in savings at 4% before paying any tax on interest.
- If you have an anxious pet tonight: nothing has changed in the law yet. A government consultation closed this month proposing that the loudest fireworks be sold only to professionals and that the consumer noise limit fall from 120 to 110 decibels, roughly halving loudness. A complete ban on public sales has been ruled out, and any change comes with a six-month transition.
- If you are on a hosepipe ban or near a reservoir: the wettest week in two years has not ended the drought. Most of England and Wales remain in drought, parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Sussex are in severe drought, and up to ten dry days are now forecast. This is England’s third drought in five years.
America Approves 500 Patriots That May Take Years to Arrive
The State Department has cleared the sale of 500 PAC-3 interceptor missiles to Ukraine at a cost of $2.1bn, the one weapon that reliably downs Russian ballistic missiles. President Zelensky welcomed the decision and then warned that delive…
Poland’s President Forces His Way Into the Constitutional Court
Judges elected by the current parliamentary majority moved to suspend the Constitutional Tribunal’s president and vice-president and take procedural control of the court. Riot police were deployed in Warsaw, three people were detained, and…
Half the Record Crypto Theft Frozen as Investigators Close In
The exchange that lost $6.3bn this week says it has frozen about half the stolen funds and set aside more than that sum of its own money to cover customers. The US Secret Service says it is working around the clock to trace and recover the…
Yerevan Nature Deal Lands With One Target of 24 on Course
After nearly two weeks of negotiation in Armenia’s capital, governments agreed a new accord on nature and acknowledged they are falling behind. The 2022 framework they are meant to be delivering set 24 targets, including protecting 30% of…
Democrats Lead by Eight Points With Three Days to the Midterms
Americans vote on Tuesday, and one polling average puts Democrats 8.2 points ahead on the national congressional ballot, 51.4% to 43.2%. A wire-service analysis counted more than 43 million early or postal votes five days out, nearly ten m…
Settlement Decision Due Next Week After Cabinet Objections
The home secretary is expected to put her final decision on settlement rules for legal migrants to Parliament in the coming week. Her proposal would double the wait for permanent residence from five years to ten, with some lower-paid worke…
Savers and Landlords Face Four Points More From April 2027
Wednesday’s Budget added two percentage points to the tax rates on savings interest and property income, on top of two already announced by the previous chancellor. From April 2027 the rates become 24% for basic-rate taxpayers, 44% for hig…
Sorrow and Regret Offered, but Reparations Refused
In a signed article before next week’s Commonwealth summit in Antigua, the prime minister called the transatlantic slave trade “a brutal and barbaric violation”, expressed “sorrow and regret”, and said he is open to calls for a formal stat…
Bereaved Families Win Full Asbestos Compensation From Today
From today, families of people who died of asbestos-related disease before they could claim will receive the same compensation the sufferer would have been entitled to, ending a gap of roughly £7,000. About 300 families a year are affected…
Up to Ten Dry Days After the Wettest Week in Two Years
High pressure is returning and the United Kingdom could see as many as ten consecutive days without rain, after an unsettled end to October in which the Environment Agency says England had its wettest week in two years. Halloween evening s…