Saturday long read from me and @JackElsom on the battle over Labour’s first Budget under Andy Burnham 👇 - One of John Healey’s top aides spotted getting friendly advice over Guinness from a former Rachel Reeves adviser - Labour MPs say Burnham is already starting to “sound like Keir” while his policy agenda looks a lot like “Rachel’s” - A senior backbencher also says colleagues fear big decisions being kicked into next year could point to an early election - Meanwhile, No10 is courting the PLP before asking MPs to swallow painful choices thesun.co.uk/news/40423238/a…

“Quite clearly communities up and down the UK... are getting angrier and angrier about this issue” Former Labour Leader Neil Kinnock, podcaster Rory Stewart and the New Statesman’s Ailbhe Rea discuss the possible political solutions to asylum housing. #Newsnight

Kind of ridiculous that the whole post GFC UK productivity story turned out to be wrong because the ONS was slow to adapt to new methodology...

For the start of the university year, @thetimes asked a few writers to recommend one book to read as a student. I chose 12, namely Anthony Powell’s A Dance to the Music of Time.

Latest: Banks have £915billion of our money in savings accounts paying average 1.64% and £305bn in accounts paying 0% - average 1.23%. They can deposit that with BoE which pays Bank Rate 3.75%. Over last 12 months banks made £28.5bn profit on our money! (BoE Table A6.1, 29/7/26)

What use are cans if they aren’t there to be kicked?

Oh Ben, don’t expose your own limitations. UK’s situation has been precarious for years, worse since Brexit bravely struck out alone. Who could guess that Brexit’s hero Trump’s genius wd close both the Hormuz and now the Red Sea oil routes and 36% (?) of global oil exports

🚨 Exclusive: British officials were hauled into a private meeting at the Embassy on Monday and given a dressing down over the Online Safety Act, the Under-16s social media ban and other policies politicshome.com/news/articl…

Some people who've been stuck for years on housing waiting lists are paying council workers in a frantic bid to speed up their long wait for a home. Housing campaigner @Kwajotweneboa speaks to @sophyridgesky and @wilfredfrost about the corruption.

It's a hell of a lot of money for a political party. But this is a little overwrought: the UK billboard market size is c.£500m, and political advertising on broadcast media in this country is banned.

Ridiculous sums of money don’t level the playing field - they distort it. It’s increasingly urgent that we get to grips with Political funding in Britain - our democracy is for sale to the highest bidder, Reform are a minor party with no track record (no positive one) and no real policies, stuffed full of bigots and failed Tories (and failed Tory bigots) - a handful of super rich fools are pushing them to a prominence they simply should not have. Our current system of funding is anti democratic - those with big money have more say than the simple vote we all have. I’m a donor and I’ve been calling for a ban on all donations for some time now. For just £50m a year, a packet of crisps from each Briton - we can make our politics squeaky clean and truly representative. A cap on donations would be a step in the right direction - the end game should be publicly funded politics. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3v4…

The head of MI5 has warned that Britain faces more danger now than it did in 2001. Sir Ken McCallum, the intelligence service’s director general, said the UK was contending with threats from hostile states as well as the dangers of Islamic extremism. 🔗 telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/09…

0-5% - Labour Mayors being clear that if they introduce the Levy, that it will be set at a low level. Claims that it could add £150 to family holiday are blown out of the water. Though, makes sense if Tory MPs think £3-£5,000 is a typical amount to spend on a family holiday.

Very hot drinks may damage the food pipe and increase cancer risk bbc.in/4xVjrOf

Yesterday, a pack of blackshirts turned up at the Mail’s offices & the police opened a criminal investigation into Farage’s funding. And this is the front page today. Honestly, so much of the British press is a busted flush. It’s just embarrassing.