Morning Briefing: Wednesday 4 November 2026
- If you save into a workplace defined-contribution pension, ministers propose that your scheme should offer a default income for life as you approach retirement; you would remain free to choose another option.
- The Bank of England announces its interest-rate decision on Thursday, and a first rise since 2023 is widely expected; ten-year gilt yields stood near 5.27% on Tuesday, which feeds through to fixed-rate mortgage pricing.
- Under the planned UK–EU agrifood deal, pets travelling to Europe would need a pet passport rather than a certificate for every trip, though parts of the package will not take effect until 2028.
Democrats seize both houses of Congress in rebuke to Trump
Democrats have won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, flipping seven Republican-held Senate seats, among them Texas, Kansas, Ohio and Maine. The BBC projects 245 House seats for the Democrats to 166 for the Republ…
Trump concedes Iran war cost votes, but signals vetoes ahead
President Trump acknowledged that the war had contributed to Republican losses — “Iran was a piece of it” — but said he did not regret launching it and that it would end “when I say it ends”. He told CBS he wanted to strike deals with cong…
Tehran says Americans ‘said no to war’ as tankers burn near Hormuz
Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the midterm results showed that “Americans said no to war”, warning that if Washington betrayed that will, “our ‘no’ comes with a nightmare”. The Revolutionary Guard claimed four tank…
Oil firms and US futures slip as markets weigh divided government
Brent crude rose 0.8% to $104.42 a barrel by 05:10 GMT in volatile trading, reversing earlier losses, as investors awaited Washington’s next move on Iran after the Democratic sweep. S&P 500 futures were 0.1% lower and Nasdaq futures 0.3% l…
Spain’s transport minister resigns after Urda crash that killed 69
Óscar Puente has resigned as Spain’s transport minister, six days after a high-speed train ploughed into a stationary one near Urda, south of Madrid, killing at least 69 people. “A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot remain i…
Burnham to unveil EU deals on youth visas, pets and carbon
Andy Burnham is preparing to announce three agreements with the EU at a Brussels summit on 20 November: an agrifood deal including pet passports, British access to the EU emissions trading scheme, and a visa scheme for under-30s. He says t…
Miliband says slavery apology will not cost British taxpayers
Ed Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, has insisted that a formal apology for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade would not mean higher costs for taxpayers, and accused past governments of a “sweep it under the carpet” attitude. “…
Cyber chief warns of AI-powered ransomware on infrastructure by 2028
The National Cyber Security Centre judges it “highly likely” that AI-powered malware will be used in a ransomware attack on Britain’s critical infrastructure by 2028. Its chief executive, Richard Horne, said this week’s hacking of supermar…
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor summonsed to give evidence in fraud trial
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been served with a witness summons to give evidence in a High Court fraud trial on or around 15 December, the BBC understands — thought to be the first such summons to a royal since the 19th century. He is no…
Ministers propose default lifetime pensions for 17 million private-sector savers
Around 17 million private-sector workers saving into defined-contribution pensions would be offered a default income for life under “guided retirement” plans launched by Torsten Bell, the pensions minister. Schemes would have to provide th…