News – World and UK

A building society is increasing the maximum amount that first-time buyers can potentially borrow as a multiple of their earnings, with the launch of a new mortgage range. Aspiring homeowners with a minimum household income of £40,000 may now be able to borrow up to 5.5 times their earnings, Leeds Building Society said. Its previous maximum loan-to-income ratio was 5.25 for first-time buyers and 4.5 on its standard mortgage lending […]

France’s far-right and left-wing legislators joined together on Wednesday to vote for a no-confidence motion prompted by budget disputes that forces Prime Minister Michel Barnier to resign. The National Assembly approved the motion by 331 votes. A minimum of 288 were needed. President Emmanuel Macron insisted he will serve the rest of his term until 2027. However, he will need to appoint a new prime minister for the second time […]

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has faced Labour pressure to amend her inheritance tax changes for farmers as a backbencher made clear his opposition to the current proposals. Markus Campbell-Savours, the Labour MP for Penrith and Solway, said he is “not prepared to break my word” given to farmers during the election that Labour had no plans to introduce changes to agricultural property relief (APR). He said he will engage with the […]

A multibillion-dollar money laundering network run by two Russian millionaires and used by UK drug dealers to hide criminal cash has been brought down in an international sting. The system was used by Russian-speaking hackers with millions in cryptocurrency that they needed to turn into cash and assets, as well as street gangs in Britain who had physical money they needed to launder. Irish cartel the Kinahans are also accused […]

The Prime Minister faces pressure to raise human rights issues as he meets the Emir of Qatar to agree a £1 billion investment in climate technology on Wednesday. Sir Keir Starmer is set to host Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Downing Street as the Emir concludes his state visit to the UK. The pair will hail a “significant milestone” in the relationship between the UK and Qatar, as […]

Up to 300,000 children in England could be missing from education, a report has suggested. Teenagers are more likely to leave the English education system, especially in Year 10 when pupils are leading up to their GCSE exams, according to the Education Policy Institute (EPI). The analysis, which compared GP registrations with school registrations and pupils registered in elective home education, estimates that up to 300,000 children may be missing […]

Drivers are set to enjoy the cheapest Christmas fuel prices since the pandemic, despite a slight rise in November, figures suggest. Petrol went up by a penny to 136.5p in November – but is still 10.5p cheaper than a year ago, according to latest data from RAC Fuel Watch. Diesel went up by 1.8p to 142.25p, but remained 12p cheaper than the same time last year. The prices take the […]

Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs could hit UK trade with the US as badly as Brexit affected trade with the EU, a leading think tank has said. In a report published on Wednesday, the Resolution Foundation said British trade since Brexit had been “a tale of two sectors”, with service exports growing strongly but goods exports stagnating. But authors Emily Fry and Sophie Hale warned that British firms faced another major […]

Government plans to boost prison capacity could fall short by thousands of cell spaces within two years and cost the taxpayer billions of pounds more than anticipated, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has warned. The National Audit Office (NAO) said current expansion plans are “insufficient to meet future demand” amid a projected shortage of 12,400 prison places by the end of 2027, with costs expected to be at least £4 billion higher […]