Reeves is panicking – delaying the Budget is a big economic gamble

With the bond markets in ferment, it is surely no coincidence that the chancellor has announced the latest date for the autumn budget in more than 10 years, announcing the big day will take place on 26 November. Last year it was held on 30 October.

The recent back-and-forth between an autumn and a spring Budget makes comparisons with previous years a little complex. But if we consider Britain’s annual autumn fiscal event, whatever its title, we have to go back to 2014 and George Osborne to find it occurring later (3 December) than this year.

It is hard not to conclude that Reeves’s motivation for delay is the hope that the bond markets calm down in the interim. Borrowing costs hit a 27-year high this week, and any fall would be hugely beneficial to the chancellor given the profound fiscal challenges she faces, with estimates of the “black hole” in the public finances ranging from £20bn to £40bn.

What is behind the bond markets’ distemper? Is the chancellor’s shaky credibility finally on the rocks? Or is something else at work?

The truth is a bit of both. The UK is far from alone in suffering from a surge in borrowing costs. There has been a global market-wide tremor. Part of the problem is down to a lack of demand for long-dated debt from maturing pension funds, previously some of the biggest customers. This creates trouble for the UK because 30-year bonds make up a disproportionate proportion of this country’s IOUs.

Figures from the Bank of International Settlements put the average maturity of UK debt at 14.7 years. Compare that to the US (6.2 years), Canada (6.7), Australia (7) and Germany (7.1). These figures are from 2022, but they serve to illustrate just how much of an outlier the UK is.

The country could, of course, switch to issuing more shorter-term debt. But this is not a quick fix for Reeves, with the Office for Budget Responsibility breathing down her neck and preparing to mark her homework. A sudden sharp rise in shorter-dated UK gilts could also create problems. A sudden increase in supply will cut demand, forcing the issuer to pay higher interest rates to get its bonds sold.

However, some of the chancellor’s problems are also local, and in part due to her decisions. By that, I mean her bad decisions. The raft of inflationary tax rises and bill increases that hit in April pushed up inflation. The consumer prices index has remained uncomfortably high, jumping to an unexpectedly nasty 3.8 per cent in July. For comparison, the latest figures show the eurozone at just 2.1 per cent and even the US, with all those tariffs (in theory) pushing up the price of consumer goods, at 2.7 per cent.

While the Bank of England cut base rates to 4 per cent last time, I wouldn’t expect to see further movement this year unless the expected decline in inflation is realised. It looks likely that rates will now fall more slowly than had been hoped.

On the flip side, there have been signs of the economy picking up a little steam. UK plc isn’t exactly in the fast lane, but it set the pace in the G7 in the first half of the year, and while it slowed in the second (spring) quarter, it nonetheless outperformed expectations.

It’s worth pointing out that compared to the rest of the world, the UK is far from the worst fiscal offender. The US continues to run a deficit of more than 6 per cent. Donald Trump doesn’t appear to have any plan to address it, beyond magical thinking (tariffs, and the US economy enjoying a big beautiful boom as a result of them). The French government is on a cliff edge as it struggles to set a budget. The US, France, Spain, Italy and Japan all have a higher debt-to-GDP ratio than Britain.

Reeves, with her “non-negotiable” fiscal rules, arguably has more of a plan to control debt than all of the above. But the government still has a credibility and competence problem.

We should also remember that while delaying the big day could leave the chancellor in a better position if the markets do move in her favour, it is far from risk-free. They could equally stay bad or even move further against her.

Confidence remains thin, the housing market is riven with uncertainty over what the chancellor might do with property taxes, and there is a persistent feeling of autumnal gloom that goes beyond the ever-fickle British weather.

Poor political judgement and a flat-footed response to economic circumstances have compounded the problems the nation faces.

This is fixable. But the chancellor and the prime minister need to do better. They have much to prove, and the markets are watching. They’ve brought down chancellors and, yes, even prime ministers before. They could do so again if the incumbents don’t shape up.

Putin says he is ready to meet Zelensky if he comes to Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he is prepared to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky in Moscow, but that it remains to be seen whether a meeting was worthwhile.

“As for a meeting with Zelensky I have never ruled out the possibility of such a meeting,” Putin said, speaking in Beijing. “Let him come to Moscow…But is there any point?”

It comes after Trump suggested in a post on Truth Social that Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un were conspiring against the United States.

Xi warned the world was facing a choice between peace or war at a massive military parade in Beijing on Wednesday, flanked by Putin and Kim in an unprecedented show of force.

It comes as Poland said it scrambled fighter jets in the early hours today to protect its airspace after Russia attacked western and central Ukraine with a drone swarm.

All of Ukraine was under air raid alerts from 1.40am GMT following Ukrainian Air Force warnings of incoming Russian missile and drone attacks.

Zelensky and several European leaders are due to call Trump tomorrow afternoon after a summit, the French presidency has said.

Rylan Clark’s immigrant rant sparks hundreds of Ofcom complaints

Rylan Clark’s controversial claims on This Morning about immigration to the UK sparked hundreds of Ofcom complaints.

The ITV programme received 576 complaints about Clark’s rant, which he made during the 27 August live show.

Critics accused the host of repeating false narratives about immigrants receiving free iPads and being accommodated in four-star hotels.

During the episode, the 36-year-old, who was standing in for regular hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard, noted how doctors and nurses from “other countries” saved his mother Linda’s life when she fell ill earlier this year.

“They’re living a great life, they’re paying into this tax system, they’re helping this country thrive,” he said.

But he added that there is “something wrong” with the way refugees are welcomed. “Here’s the iPad. Here’s the NHS in reception of your hotel. Here’s three meals a day. Here’s a games room in the hotel. Have a lovely time and welcome,” he said.

Clark continued: “How can it be that if I turn up at Heathrow Airport as a British citizen and I’ve left my passport in Spain, I’ve got to stand at that airport and won’t be let in. But if I arrive on a boat from Calais, I get taken to a four-star hotel?”

An Ofcom spokesperson told The Independent: “We’re assessing these complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate.”

Following backlash to his rant, Clark told his critics you can be “pro immigration and against illegal routes” after he said it was “absolutely insane” that asylum seekers are risking their lives to come to the UK.

“Stop with this putting everyone in a box and maybe have conversations instead of shouting on Twitter,” Clark wrote on Instagram hours after his opinion was condemned online.

“You can be pro immigration and against illegal routes. You can support trans people and have the utmost respect for women. You can be heterosexual and still support gay rights. This list continues.”

On Tuesday (2 September), Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid stepped in when correspondent Kevin Maguire hit out at Clark for “regurgitating terrible myths” about migrants.

Interrupting Maguire, Reid replied: “Hang on. He pointed out that this country is built on immigration and he was grateful to all of the migrants who have come to the NHS for helping support his mum.

“He was actually concerned, though, that we’ve got a sort of welcome to the UK, and we don’t know who all of these people are.”

Reid said she thinks “it is the duty of the government, as the government itself would acknowledge, that we control borders and we do not just welcome everybody if we don’t know who they are”, adding that Clark did not want to share an anti-migration message.

Maguire replied: “He also regurgitated a load of myths and lies. Let’s not ignore that. Myths and lies have gone mainstream, and we’ve got to challenge that, we’ve got to push back on that.”

Clark rose to fame on the ninth series of The X Factor in 2012. The following year, he appeared on and won the 11th series of Celebrity Big Brother. He has gone on to present various television shows including This Morning and Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two.

Reform media ban is a glimpse of what may happen with Farage in power

Last month, in a disturbing but not entirely unsurprising development, the leader of a Reform UK council effectively barred a local newspaper and website from interacting with the authority.

The ban imposed by Nottinghamshire County Council came after Nottinghamshire Live published a series of stories which council leader Mick Barton claimed “consistently misrepresented” Reform.

It was a strange move for a party that bills itself as the champion of free speech. And it was somewhat ironic that it came just days before party leader Nigel Farage lambasted the state of free speech in the UK in front of a congressional committee in Washington DC.

But the truly worrying thing is that the block on engaging with the media is not a localised phenomenon, but one which could truly rear its ugly head on a national scale if Mr Farage takes control of Downing Street.

Experience of dealing with Reform’s national operation over the last few months has demonstrated that this situation is more than simply one council going rogue.

As political editor of The Independent, I have taken threatening calls from a member of Reform’s leadership and an aide of Mr Farage, telling me that The Independent will be banned from all events if we do not change a critical story or the tone of our questions and coverage.

In one case, a member of the leadership took umbrage at a piece suggesting they had been hypocritical (they had, by the way) in their attack on Rachel Reeves over her CV. In between threatening legal action, they added: “I will make sure The Independent does not get to attend a single one of our events or get a single interview again.”

They did not follow through on the threat, but another senior official made a rather revealing and sinister comment: “You don’t want to ruin relations with a party leading the polls over a story like this.”

In other words, we need to stay on the party’s good side because it might win an election – or else! Someone does not appear to understand what journalists do.

One of my colleagues was specifically targeted as someone who would not be allowed to attend events because a senior Reform staffer falsely accused him of being “an activist journalist”.

“He comes here with his rainbow lanyard and his pronouns with his snide questions,” they said.

Needless to say, once the threat of being banned was made, the journalist in question was sent to each and every event unless he was on holiday.

At one point, he was blocked from going into a press conference because it was claimed he had not registered (he had). Reform only backed down when I messaged to say I would be publishing a story about them banning The Independent from the event. I was subsequently assured it had not been intentional.

Much more disturbing was when a female colleague attended a recent press conference and was verbally attacked by a male Reform staffer in the middle of the event.

The Reform staffer had been reading messages over her shoulder that she had written on her laptop back to head office, and leaned forward with his face up close to hers and started angrily objecting to them, making her feel extremely uncomfortable and threatened.

Ironically, it was at a press conference about how to protect women.

I know that these are not experiences isolated to The Independent.

I have been told by an insider that there was a serious discussion within Reform a number of months ago about banning The Mirror and The Guardian from their events.

Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed in that discussion.

It is not as though we should be surprised by this because Reform is essentially importing the Maga tactics of Donald Trump in a divide-and-rule approach – excluding those who challenge or do not do as they are told.

I remember very clearly going to the Oval Office to see Keir Starmer meet Trump, and the Associated Press (AP) representative in front of me being stopped and barred from the event. AP had refused to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.

But let us be clear about this: the behaviour of Reform I have described above is not normal.

Political parties in this country do not ban or threaten journalists. They may get angry, there may be complaints and arguments – but nothing like I have described above.

The only other major party to behave like this was the Scottish National Party, especially under the leadership of Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon.

But they, like Reform, are nationalist and populist in nature, so maybe we should not be surprised.

The irony of all this is that Reform’s rise to the top of the polls and dominating the political agenda has been because of the huge political coverage it has received – much greater than its number of MPs would warrant.

If there is one bit of hope, it is that there are some cooler, more experienced heads in the party. Mr Farage himself has never made such threats and was one of the first political leaders I knew who gave out his number to journalists.

You can see by the way he allows every journalist who attends his many events to ask a question that he, personally, is not afraid of the scrutiny or difficult questions. Perhaps it is because he is a confident and accomplished media performer. Actually, his approach at press conferences is one that other leaders – like Sir Keir – should adopt.

But that is not the same for all of Reform’s senior figures. Last week, deputy leader Richard Tice defended Mr Barton over his actions.

He told Sky News that Nottinghamshire Live “distorts and completely acts in an irresponsible way”, and therefore, councillors were “entitled to say, ‘we’re going to talk to other parts of the media, not yourselves’”.

It is a disturbing indication of what would happen if Reform enters Downing Street.

It is worth remembering that free speech does not exist if there is not a free press able to carry out its work and hold people to account.

Mr Farage should have remembered that when he gave evidence in Washington. No wonder he got torn to sheds and humiliated by Democrat congressman Jamie Raskin.

New Green leader apologises over claim he can increase women’s breast sizes with his mind

Zack Polanski has apologised for claiming to have been able to help women increase the size of their breasts using his mind.

The newly elected Green Party leader, while previously working as a hypnotherapist, offered a session to increase an undercover newspaper reporter’s breast size and improve her body image.

And, asked about the claims following his landslide leadership win, Mr Polanski said “I apologised for that 12 years ago,” before apologising again.

Asked if voters could trust him in light of the claims, he told BBC Breakfast: “Well, it’s never for a politician to say ‘trust me’.

“But what I would say is, I apologise, well, I apologised for that 12 years ago, and one of my favourite politicians, Tony Benn, often said, ‘I don’t care where you came from, I care where you’re going’.

“Ultimately, trust is a transactional relationship where you build trust based on the actions.”

Labour immediately resurfaced the Green leader’s 2013 claim, with an attack post on the party’s press account declaring: “Meet Zack Polanski. This is the person who the Greens just elected as their new leader.” The post contained an extract of The Sun article declaring Mr Polanski’s support for hypnotic breast enhancement. “This is an extremely new approach, but I can see it becoming popular very quickly, because it’s so safe and a lot cheaper than a boob job,” he is quoted as saying.

Several Labour MPs shared the post, with Kettering’s Rosie Wrighting adding: “So this is who the Greens think should lead their party? Says it all.” Stratford and Bow MP Uma Kumaran said: “Grim.”

Mr Polanski hit back, saying: “The Labour government, when they could have been talking about the inequality act, or the homeless people on the streets, or the fact that we’ve just spent £15bn in nuclear weapons – we could have that discussion – but no, the Labour Party yesterday put out a press release about a silly article way before I was a politician from over a decade ago that I’ve already apologised for.

“That sounds to me like this is a Labour government worrying, and they should do.”

Mr Polanski secured the Green Party leadership in a landslide victory, winning 20,411 votes from the party membership, while Ellie Chowns and Adrian Ramsay’s joint campaign received just 3,705 votes.

Elected with the largest ever number of votes in a Green Party leadership election, becoming the first ever sole leader of the party, Mr Polanski promised “bold action and bold leadership”.

In his victory speech, Mr Polanski sent a message to Sir Keir’s Labour Party, vowing the Greens will replace it.

He said: “We will nationalise the water companies. We will hold this Labour government to account. Because when we look at Keir Starmer and what this government have been doing, whether it’s the two-child benefit cap, the disability cuts, the genocide in Gaza, my message to Labour is very clear: we are not here to be disappointed by you, we are not here to be concerned by you, we’re here to replace you.”

Make the most of London this summer with this stadium experience

Whether you’re experiencing London for the first time or you’re a family with kids keen to create unforgettable memories during the holidays, a visit to this world-famous stadium in North London is a must.

After 90 years at their beloved Highbury stadium, Arsenal’s ambitions outgrew their original home and in 2006, the club opened the Emirates. With a seating capacity of over 60,000, the Emirates stadium is one of the largest in England. The sheer scale of this field of dreams must be seen to believed — and thanks to its easy-to-reach location, you can hop on a bus or train and get there in no time.

Once there, Arsenal’s award-winning tours open the doors to parts of the stadium that are usually off-limits to the public. For sightseers who prefer to go at their own pace and for those with little ones who tire easily, the club’s self-guided audio-visual tour is a great option.

Fans and families can take their time to soak in the atmosphere and stroll in the footsteps of footballing legends, imagining the roar of the crowd as you step into the players’ tunnel. Afterwards, feel the tension rise in the dugout and experience the best seats in the house in the directors’ box.

It’s a rare opportunity to glimpse the inner workings of a prestigious football club and explore normally restricted areas that also include the home and away dressing rooms, the media lounge and the exclusive members-only Diamond Club.

Available in seven languages on a state-of-the-art handheld device, the tour is narrated by Arsenal presenter David Frimpong, otherwise known as ‘Frimmy’, as well as featuring commentary from Arsenal legends Alex Scott and David Seaman.

As well as audio, the tour recreates the electric atmosphere of matchday using 360-degree augmented footage and includes brand new interactive elements. You can also take souvenir photos with iconic Arsenal trophies, including that of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

The Arsenal Legend Stadium Tour is a more bespoke alternative to the self-guided tour, where visitors can explore the stadium for 90 minutes alongside an Arsenal hero. Tour guides include Nigel Winterburn and Perry Groves, as well as former women’s captain Faye White MBE.

During the tour, the Arsenal legend will share memories, anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories from their time on the pitch, offering a unique insider’s perspective on life at the club. Expect plenty of humour, fascinating insights and a chance to hear back-room gossip straight from the legends themselves. There’s also a chance for a Q&A and photo opportunity with your Arsenal legend of choice.

Included with every tour ticket is entry into Arsenal’s interactive museum situated right next door to the stadium. Chart the club’s evolution from humble origins in Woolwich in 1886 to its modern powerhouse status with a global following of over 100 million fans.

The museum features two impressive video theatres, showing highlights from the club’s origins to the present day as well as twenty major displays of Arsenal’s proud history. Feast your eyes on silverware from the club’s most successful eras, Michael Thomas’s boots from Anfield 1989 and Jens Lehmann’s goalkeeper gloves worn for every league match of the unbeaten Invincibles season in 2003/4.

For lifelong Gooners, it’s a trip down memory lane. For families and tourists, it’s an eye-opening lesson in why football matters so much to the UK and is the perfect outing to experience London at its most authentic.

This content is brought to you by Living360, a digital lifestyle destination keeping you up to date with health and fitness, food and drink, homes and gardens, beauty, travel, finance trends and more.

London Pride chief investigated over misuse of funds claims

An internal investigation has been launched into Pride in London’s chief executive over a series of allegations that he abused his position, including by misappropriating company funds and bullying personnel.

Christopher Joell-Deshields, who has been chief executive of Pride in London since 2021, is subject to claims from a formal whistleblowing disclosure received by The Guardian from a group of volunteer directors.

These include allegations of misappropriation or misuse of gifts or company funds, behaviour damaging or potentially damaging to the company’s reputation, harassment or bullying of personnel and a “serious breach” of bullying, harassment and finance policies.

The group allege that Mr Joell-Deshields bought luxury perfumes with food and drink vouchers that were donated by an unnamed sponsor, with around £30,000 worth of food and drink vouchers potentially misused, according to a leaked copy of the disclosure.

The voluntary directors alleged that the sponsor’s head of ethics and compliance had written in February to the legal director at Pride in London to warn that the company’s fraud system had detected that two accounts had used £7,125 of the vouchers on luxury items, including an Apple HomePod, Aipple Airpods, and a number of designer fragrances including Creed Aventus, which costs at least £165, and Burberry Hero, which starts at £118 a bottle.

One of the two accounts flagged was that of Mr Joell-Deshields. Pride in London commissioned external lawyers to investigate, according to the directors’ letter, and an interim report was written, The Guardian reported.

According to the letter, the report states that Mr Joell-Deshields said that the vouchers were used for gifts and prizes for raffles and that the HomePod was used in the office and at “pop up” events; the volunteer directs claimed no raffles took place last year and they received no evidence of the unopened and unused items. They also claimed never to have seen the HomePod in the office.

Sources told The Guardian that Mr Joell-Deshields was suspended from his role as chief executive by a newly constituted board of London LGBT Community Pride, the community interest company behind the parade.

The Independent received a statement from Pride in London on Wednesday, which read: “Christopher Joell-Deshields remains as chief executive officer of Pride in London and director of London LGBT Community Pride CIC.

“Any matters requiring investigation will be handled appropriately through proper channels. The organisation remains committed to serving the LGBTQ+ community and our operations continue steadily.”

However, it is understood this statement was not authorised by the organisation’s board of directors, who instead sent a separate statement to The Independent.

“The board of directors is aware of a number of allegations and is taking action to investigate these claims”, the statement read.

“We are not in a position to comment further while these investigations are taking place, save to say that we take such allegations extremely seriously, and remain committed to upholding a safe, open and inclusive organisation that is compliant with its legal and governance obligations.”

Earlier this year The Independent reported that pride organisers across the country had marked a critical fall in corporate sponsorship. Some 75 per cent of Pride events across the UK recorded a decline in corporate sponsorships in 2025, with a quarter experiencing funding drops of more than 50 per cent.

Pride events across the country receive a bulk of funding from big businesses, varying on a scale of a minimum of 50 per cent, to events like Pride in London, where approximately 95 per cent of the funding comes from corporate partnerships.

Pride in London received up to £625,000 from City Hall in 2022 to help them deliver the capital’s LGBTQI+ celebrations from 2023 to 2027.

The Independent has approached Mr Joell-Deshields for comment. He told The Guardian in a statement: “I remain in my role as CEO of Pride in London and as a director of London LGBT Community Pride CIC.

“The current legal and governance matters relate to the organisation itself. These matters are being addressed through the appropriate channels, and it would be inappropriate to litigate them in the press.

“Nothing in this statement should be interpreted as an admission of any allegation, nor does it comment on any other individual. For that reason, I will not be making any further comment at this time.”

Lush closes all UK stores for one day in protest over Gaza

Toiletries chain Lush has closed all its UK shops for a day “in solidarity with Gaza” and called on the UK government to act to help end “the death and destruction”.

The shop famous for its strongly scented soaps and bath bombs said it would not open its stores on Wednesday and would keep its website closed to “send into Gaza our love and a strong message that we stand in solidarity”. The company has more than 100 shops in the UK and Ireland, whose windows display the slogan “Stop starving Gaza”.

Bosses estimated they would lose around £350,000 in sales for the day, and they would also have to cover staff wages bills amounting to another £300,000.

Instead of its usual home page, the Lush website consists of a black page, with the same message and “We are closed in solidarity” in capitals.

Another page reads: “Across the Lush business we share the anguish that millions of people feel seeing the images of starving people in Gaza, Palestine. Like the rest of the world, we struggle to find ways we can help whilst the Israeli government is preventing urgent humanitarian assistance from entering Gaza.”

The chain, which has often taken controversial stands on political issues, has also shut its factories for a day.

In 2018, the company was slated for a campaign that sought to highlight the scandal over undercover police officers forging intimate relationships with women they spied on.

The high-street chain adorned its store fronts with fake police tape reading “police have crossed the line”.

On Wednesday, no products were available on the Lush website. Instead, a message read: “Shutting our shops is not an easy decision – we ask for forgiveness from any customers we inconvenience should they come to us on 3rd September and find us closed. However, we know that many of our customers share the same anxiety about the current situation in Gaza.”

It added: “Whilst Lush is losing a day of takings, this also means that the UK government is losing a day of tax contributions from Lush and our customers. We hope they too hear the message our closure sends, with more government action needed to bring an immediate stop to the death and destruction, including an end to arms sales from the UK.”

The UN says there is mounting evidence that “widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease” are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths in Gaza caused by an Israeli blockade on the territory.

The latest export licensing figures available, from May this year, show that the UK approved £127m of military equipment to Israel in single issue licences between October and December last year.

This was less than it would have been without a partial suspension of arms sales. In September, foreign secretary David Lammy said the UK would be suspending 30 out of 350 arms export licences to Israel, over concerns they could be used in violation of international humanitarian law.

Of the lost sales and wages bill, a Lush spokesperson said: “It’s sad that it’s easier for us to take this financial loss than it is for us to get the equivalent amount of aid into Gaza.”