Author: News Desk

Budget today: How will it affect my savings and what should I do There has been fevered speculation about changes to pension savers’ tax allowances and other perks ahead of today’s Budget statement. Reports that pensioners could have tax breaks cut or axed led to savers withdrawing chunks of their retirement pots ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s big announcement. Other speculation focused on tax breaks for workers planning to retire, spurring them to do the opposite, and pack more cash into their pensions in case their own tax incentives are slashed. What might the chancellor do? You may have missed…

Refuge safe house takes shape  Ground has been broken, foundations have been laid, and walls are being built. Work is ongoing at the site of a home being built by The Independent and Refuge – a home that will house survivors of domestic abuse for years to come. And with the generosity of The Independent’s readers, this will not be the only house built, with plans in place for a second. We went to the site to meet some of the key players who have made this incredible project possible. https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/refuge-safe-house-brick-by-brick-b2637684.html

Huge blaze engulfs BAE Systems nuclear submarine shipyard building A huge fire broke out at BAE Systems’ Barrow-in-Furness nuclear submarine shipyard in the early hours of Wednesday:’, 30 October. The blaze began at around 12.45am and was ongoing, Cumbria Constabulary said. Two people have been taken to hospital for suspected smoke inhalation. Police said there is “no nuclear risk.” A statement said: “At this time there are no other casualties and everyone else has been evacuated from the Devonshire Dock Hall and are accounted for.” The facility is home to Britain’s Astute-class submarines and Dreadnought programme. https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/barrow-bae-systems-fire-nuclear-b2638069.html

See house The Independent is building for domestic abuse survivors take shape New footage shows a house The Independent is building for domestic abuse survivors taking shape, thanks to generous donations from our readers. The Brick by Brick appeal, launched last month in partnership with the charity Refuge, has now raised more than £350,000 – and construction on the first safe new home for families fleeing the horror of domestic abuse is now well underway. Standing among the foundations and rising walls of the new sanctuary, Refuge chair Hetti Barkworth-Nanton described its construction as “quite simply life-changing”. Be a brick, buy…

Rachel Reeves issues final message ahead of historic autumn Budget | News Rachel Reeves issued a final message before Labour’s first Budget in 14 years was presented to the public on Wednesday, 30 October. In a video posted to her social media pages, the chancellor described how she “likes graphs and spreadsheets” and has been “poring over the detail” of the government’s upcoming economic announcements. Labour vowed not to raise taxes on “working people” in the days before the Budget announcement. However, other rumoured tax rises led critics to question who falls under Labour’s definition of “working.” The prime minister…

More spending and tax hikes expected in the first budget from Britain’s Labour government British Treasury chief Rachel Reeves will deliver her first budget in Parliament on Wednesday, a tightrope act that aims to find billions for investment through borrowing and tax hikes without roiling businesses or raising taxes on working people. It’s the first budget by a Labour Party government in almost 15 years, and the first ever delivered by a female finance minister. Reeves pledged that the budget will put “more pounds in people’s pockets” and get the economy growing, but the government has struck a gloomy note…

Royal news live: Prince William’s homelessness documentary to air ahead of Prince Harry’s Netflix series Prince William’s documentary focused on homelessness is set to premiere on Disney+ just ahead of his brother Prince Harry’s upcoming polo series on Netflix. Titled Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, the two-part ITV series aims to highlight the Prince of Wales’s commitment to addressing homelessness and will air in the UK on today and Thursday. In a clip, Prince publicly mentioned his brother, Prince Harry, for the first time in eight years. He shared a poignant childhood memory of their mother, Princess Diana, taking them…

Budget 2024 time live: When is Rachel Reeves delivering the autumn statement today? Rachel Reeves is expected to announce up to £35bn in tax rises as she unveils the first Labour Budget in 14 years. After months of warning the public of the “tough choices” ahead, Ms Reeves is expected to promise to “invest, invest, invest” in order to “fix public services” in Wednesday’s Budget. Reeves is expected to say in her speech at 12.30pm: “My belief in Britain burns brighter than ever. And the prize on offer today is immense. “More pounds in people’s pockets. An NHS that is…

National insurance: Is tax going up and what does Rachel Reeve’s proposed hike mean? Labour came under criticism in recent days after several ministers refused to rule out that an increase in employer national insurance contributions (NICs) will be announced in the upcoming budget. Rachel Reeves is set to deliver the party’s first fiscal event in 15 years on 30 October. She has said it will involve “tough decisions”, after previously saying there is a £22 billion “black hole” in the UK’s public finances left by the former government. Speculation has mounted in the subsequent months, with an increase in…

Watch live: Ministers depart Downing Street for Labour’s Budget announcement Watch live as Rachel Reeves and other Labour ministers depart Downing Street on Wednesday, 30 October, ahead of the party’s first Budget in 14 years. The chancellor is expected to hold the red box outside Number 10 before she, Sir Keir Starmer, and their colleagues file into the House of Commons. In her speech later today, she is expected to say the “prize on offer” is “immense”, and she will lay out new funding to cut hospital waiting lists, build more affordable homes and rebuild crumbling schools. “More pounds in…