Evening Briefing: Wednesday 4 November 2026
- If the Energy Independence Bill passes, the daily standing charge on household gas bills goes: the government says around 60% of gas account holders would save an average of £45 a year, with 23 million households affected.
- The Bank of England decides on interest rates at noon on Thursday; a majority of the committee is expected to vote for a quarter-point rise to 4%, the first increase since 2023, which feeds straight through to tracker and variable mortgages.
- The Budget’s £100 winter energy payment for up to 20 million households in England and the £50 cut to the annual price cap stand alongside the bill; both are government figures and depend on the measures passing.
Trump ‘a little bit surprised’ as Republicans turn on him over defeat
Donald Trump said he was “a little bit surprised” by the Democrats’ sweep of both houses of Congress, blaming high petrol prices from the Iran war and, in a string of posts, Fox News. “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won…
Brent falls below $100 for the first time since 7 October
Brent crude dropped below $100 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since 7 October, a fall of nearly $9 or more than 8%, as traders bet that the election result would push President Trump towards ending the Iran war without a major es…
Zelensky decorates Melania Trump as Russia cuts power across Kyiv
Volodymyr Zelensky has awarded Melania Trump the Order of Princess Olha, first class, Ukraine’s highest award for women, for her “significant personal contribution to humanitarian support for Ukraine” after the Kherson ceasefire that allow…
Hackers hit French blood banks as freezer attacks spread to 11 countries
The French Blood Establishment said hackers raised the temperature of cold rooms storing donated blood at three sites, through a refrigeration supplier, but monitoring systems caught it and “no blood products or samples were compromised”.…
Israel certifies election result as Herzog begins coalition talks
Israel’s Central Elections Committee certified the results of last week’s election on Wednesday, finding no evidence of fraud and rejecting claims from Benjamin Netanyahu’s camp that Arab-led parties had been “stealing” it. President Isaac…
Energy Independence Bill ends new North Sea licences and scraps standing charges
The government introduced its Energy Independence Bill on Wednesday, removing the North Sea Transition Authority’s power to grant new oil and gas licences and making Labour’s manifesto moratorium permanent, while letting existing fields ad…
Burnham: US result is an ‘opportunity’ to unite on cost of living
Andy Burnham said the midterm results gave the world “an opportunity now to unite around the issue that is affecting us all, and that’s the cost of living”, speaking from the Commonwealth summit in Antigua. “President Trump has accepted th…
Haigh and Burghart trade welfare figures at PMQs in Burnham’s absence
With the prime minister in Antigua, Louise Haigh took her first Prime Minister’s Questions against the Conservatives’ deputy leader, Alex Burghart, who pressed her on working-age welfare spending; when she declined to give a figure he put…
Cocaine overtakes heroin as leading cause of drug deaths
Cocaine was involved in more drug-poisoning deaths in England and Wales last year than any other substance for the first time, the Office for National Statistics said, with 1,233 deaths and a 22% share. Total deaths fell slightly to 5,519…
MPs warned of ‘Notre Dame-style fire’ as Parliament repair costs climb
The Palace of Westminster is at risk of a Notre Dame-style fire or a similar catastrophe unless MPs stop delaying its restoration, the Public Accounts Committee has said, with maintenance costs set to reach £2m a week and every year of ina…