News – World and UK

Britain’s biggest building society will lend first-time buyers up to six times their income, increase the maximum amount that people can borrow and cut some mortgage rates from Tuesday. Nationwide Building Society will increase the maximum loan-to-income (LTI) ratio through its Helping Hand mortgage range from Tuesday. The mortgage will give people with a deposit as low as 5% the option of borrowing up to six times their income when […]

More than 25,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel so far this year. Home Office figures show 717 people made the journey in 13 boats on Sunday, taking the provisional total for 2024 to date to 25,052. This is the third highest number of arrivals recorded on a single day this year, after 882 on June 18 and 801 on September 14. It also means 1,424 […]

Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in England rejected the deal by two-thirds in a record high turnout of around 145,000. The pay award was announced by the Chancellor at the end of July, shortly after Labour won the general election. The RCN said the high turnout surpassed the level seen in two statutory ballots for industrial action held by the union in 2022 and 2023, the first […]

A schoolboy who was stabbed to death in south-east London said “I’m 15, don’t let me die” as he lay bleeding, a witness has revealed. The 43-year-old woman told the PA news agency that she tried to save the teenager as he lay wounded in the road outside her flat. Police were called at around 6.30pm on Sunday to reports of a disturbance on Eglinton Road, Woolwich. The boy was […]

Rachel Reeves has insisted she was optimistic about the UK’s economic future as she attempted to persuade critics that there would be no return to austerity under Labour. The Chancellor will address the Labour Party conference later on Monday as she attempts to strike a more upbeat tone following months of stressing the need to take “tough decisions” to deal with the legacy she inherited from the Tories. But she […]

The Environment Agency has issued a flood warning for parts of England amid concerns that affected areas could see more than a month’s worth of rain falling on Monday. Rain warnings were in place all weekend with a fresh yellow alert coming into effect at midnight to last all of Monday, covering parts of Wales, much of the south of England, the Midlands and into north-west England and Yorkshire. An […]

Officials are urging those eligible to come forward for jabs to ease pressure on the health service Officials are urging those eligible for flu and Covid-19 vaccines to come forward to help ease pressure on the health service ahead of the winter months. It comes amid concerns from NHS England over a so-called “tripledemic” of flu, Covid-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Bookings will open for millions of people from 9am on […]

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley says it's a 'step in the right direction' The Metropolitan Police have launched the latest steps to try to rebuild trust with London’s black community which has been “let down” over a number of years. Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said “there remains a long way to go and there is a lot more work to do”, but added that the Race Action Plan is a step “in […]

The Chancellor will attempt to persuade her critics that there'll be 'no return to austerity' Rachel Reeves will insist that “tough decisions” on the public finances are needed to prevent economic ruin but she will attempt to persuade her critics that there will be “no return to austerity”. In her first Labour conference speech as Chancellor, she will also promise action to tackle tax dodgers and claw back money from flawed Covid-era […]