What’s happening in Westminster today

I am tracking discussions about a potential Downing Street relocation. Keir Starmer's government has discussed moving out of No 10 and into an open-plan space in the Foreign Office. A source told Politics UK that officials have identified a specific area a short distance away. They are concerned the current layout hinders staff collaboration. John Healey is making the final touches to his Budget. He will increase the minimum wage for over-21s to around £13.20. He will also end the sharp pay rises for 18 to 20-year-olds. Their rate will only increase to around £11.27. This comes despite Labour's manifesto pledge to scrap discriminatory age bands. Andy Burnham has proposed five everyday fixes ahead of the statement. One proposal would change Carer's Allowance so claimants lose £1 for every extra £1 they earn over the limit, rather than losing the entire benefit at once. England's most senior doctors will strike over pay on 25 and 26 November. The government has also launched an independent review into the death of Henry Nowak to investigate missed opportunities to intervene. Nigel Farage is blaming staff incompetence for a half-empty hall at a Reform UK event in London. He also pointed to his 2014 Gogglebox appearance to claim he is years ahead of Burnham and Kemi Badenoch. The village of Barnham will hold a symbolic referendum on leaving the UK over government plans to house asylum seekers at a former military base. Finally, Oxford Street is now officially pedestrianised.

I am watching John Healey prepare his Budget announcements. He will confirm the state pension is rising by 3.9 percent. The tax-free allowance will increase to match, though pensioners with private income will still pay tax. The lobby expects him to grant HMRC powers to seize unpaid tax directly from bank accounts. The Conservatives call the move outrageous. Healey is reportedly considering a green tax on imported petrol and diesel to protect British refineries, according to the Telegraph. Speculation suggests Rachel Reeves might quit as an MP to cash in on her time as Chancellor. MillardClothier reports she secretly met two City firms recently to discuss offering political advice. Andy Burnham and Healey are forcing through the Rosebank oilfield approval. This overrides Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh. A minister told DPJHodges the economic case is too strong. They plan to funnel some proceeds into the Energy Wealth Fund to placate Fahnbulleh and Ed Miliband. Donald Trump has publicly praised Burnham for the drilling decision. The Guardian notes Burnham and Healey hold a weekly Sunday curry summit in the No 10 flat to discuss politics away from Treasury officials. Burnham is highly visible elsewhere today. He announced a £1.5bn borrowing facility for Mayors and called for an honest discussion about readopting EU free movement. He also criticised Angela Rayner for packing Sauvignon Blanc in her survival kit. Government entrepreneurship adviser Alex Depledge is leaving her post next Thursday. She disputes reports that she quit. She warned that treating innovation as a sideshow is dangerous for British business. Finally, Respect Orders go live across England and Wales today. Police and councils can now apply to courts for town centre bans and curfews to tackle harassment.

Keir Starmer has been summoned to give evidence to the national grooming gangs inquiry. He is listed as a core participant in the National Accountability Hearings. The Times reports the government is planning greater flexibility for teachers. An independent pay review body will consider scrapping the rule requiring staff to be available for 195 days a year. This could allow them to work a four-day week. Schools will still provide lessons five days a week. Andy Burnham has announced that military aircraft will be equipped to fight UK wildfires from next year. The RAF will fit Chinook helicopters and A400M aircraft with specialist firefighting equipment. Burnham said we cannot put people through another summer like this one. He is also scheduled to appear on Channel 4's Gogglebox tomorrow night alongside Liverpool Mayor Steve Rotheram. This has prompted immediate pushback from the Conservatives and Reform UK. Both parties are demanding Channel 4 invite Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage. A Tory source argued it is the broadcaster's job to ensure political balance. A Reform spokesperson told GB News that Farage has done the show before and would happily do it again. The lobby is chewing over reports that Palantir is sending intimidating letters to MPs who criticise the company in Parliament. One letter suggested Peter Thiel, Alex Karp and Louis Mosley should come to Parliament to explain their role in person. A Palantir spokesperson defended the letters as an attempt to set the record straight over incorrect claims. Finally, Blackpool, Milton Keynes, Sheffield and Wrexham have made the shortlist for the UK City of Culture 2029.

The fallout from the Jackdaw gas field approval is dominating the Commons today. The Speaker attacked Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh. He was furious she announced the decision to the media before Parliament. Donald Trump has weighed in to congratulate the UK and demand we take down windmills. Green MP Ellie Chowns also went after Andy Burnham at PMQs over the approval. Burnham defended the move and said he is now looking at removing standing charges from gas bills. Meanwhile, speculation suggests Fahnbulleh is set to reject the Rosebank oilfield. She reportedly believes it would do less for UK energy security because most of the oil would be exported. The Reform UK undercover row has escalated. The party has reported ITV to the police. Reform claims the broadcaster forged a passport and directly interfered in elections. Elsewhere, the government has accepted all 27 recommendations from the report on antisemitism in schools. Ministers have also launched an investigation after a BBC undercover sting caught a lawyer. The footage showed him explaining how to dodge a £45,000 illegal-working fine. In Westminster, former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson will face a Metropolitan Police interview over an alleged rape inside Parliament. I am also tracking a Google Cloud issue that has taken down services for several major banks today.

I am looking at the economic data this morning. Inflation rose to 3.5% in September. Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has officially approved the Jackdaw gas field for North Sea drilling. She says the regulator can grant consent following careful consideration. It is the largest known untapped gas reserve in the UK. The site will start supplying British homes by the end of this month. Labour has suspended Perran Moon. The MP referred himself to the party over claims he tried to wind up his company without repaying a taxpayer-funded Covid loan. Tomorrow, the government will publish a report on antisemitism in schools and colleges. It will reveal that three in five Jewish students have experienced antisemitism. In security news, counter-terror police have rearrested two men over the RAF Fairford plot. The men are suspected of assisting Iranian intelligence. Nigel Farage announced a new policy to exempt Armed Forces Reserves from paying tax on their reserve pay. His day was slightly derailed when Reform UK members booed him for accidentally saying he was in Portsmouth instead of Plymouth. Robert Jenrick also appeared before a Reform UK audience and asked them to stand up if they work. Finally, BBC News is axing a further 100 journalists to save £5.5m. The broadcaster will close BBC Three and BBC Scotland in the spring. Radio 4 Extra will also shut.

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has attacked Shabana Mahmood over her changes to settlement rules for migrants. Fahnbulleh argued that prolonging the settlement time delays community cohesion. Her allies are already walking the comments back. They claim her team wrote the blog post to share minutes from a September town hall and poorly paraphrased her actual remarks. On the Budget, John Healey has ruled out raising capital gains tax. The Times reports he fears wealthy individuals will leave the UK. The government is closing the "double provision" benefits loophole early next year. Violent criminals detained in secure hospitals will no longer receive Universal Credit. They currently claim over £800 a month while the NHS funds their care. Ministers are also adding odometer tampering by second-hand car dealers to the official list of banned practices. The ITV undercover investigation into Reform UK has yielded more footage. The broadcaster aired a clip of a close aide admitting Nigel Farage went off-script when he called a £5m gift a reward for Brexit. The aide says the press office line was to say the money was to pay for his security. Reform sacked the undercover press officer working for ITV after three weeks. Andy Burnham is active on transport and parking today. He announced £100 fines starting today for people who vape or play loud music on buses. He is also capping parking fines at £20 on appeal for minor mistakes. He did find time to joke about introducing "Tube Tunes" on weekend evenings and wants to ban VAR in Labour's next election manifesto.

I am watching the latest Budget speculation. The Telegraph reports John Healey is considering introducing income tax on parents who pass their businesses down to their children. He may shut off the lower capital gains tax rate currently applied to these transfers. Ed Miliband is also facing scrutiny. Reports suggest he is blocking AI investment into Britain over concerns it harms net zero. The BBC has suspended its secondment scheme for civil servants. This follows revelations that government statisticians helped write and fact-check stories on contentious issues like small boats. The government is launching a nationwide campaign today to target anti-social behaviour on trains. Passengers playing audio out loud face fines of up to £1,000 and removal at the next station. Next week, councils will receive new powers to issue £100 fines for vaping, littering or threatening behaviour on public transport. The ITV undercover investigation into Reform UK is producing more footage, but the party response has not shifted. Nigel Farage claims the broadcaster only caught him telling a joke about his time at Dulwich College. He accuses the establishment of trying to throw his party out. New footage shows Reform board member Gawain Towler admitting he was racist every single day at school. Separately, Reform mayor Luke Campbell is under police investigation. He allegedly showed a female staff member naked pictures of himself. A party spokesperson says Campbell firmly denies the allegations and blames a disgruntled employee. Zack Polanski confirmed he will not overturn the Green Party "Zionism is racism" motion. He says he wants to amend it from 2028 and move away from a one state solution. Green Deputy leader Mothin Ali is under police investigation after a phone was smashed at a Leeds council meeting. Across the Channel, the French government is investigating reports that UK-funded 4x4s were used to ram student protesters. Finally, the Scottish Government will quit X following an SNP vote.

I am watching the fallout from the ITV undercover investigation into Reform UK. Nigel Farage is now attacking the broadcaster directly. He claims the establishment is trying to throw his party out and says ITV only caught him telling a joke. In the latest recordings, his communications director discusses a mayoral candidate who posted that David Lammy should return to the Caribbean. The director says he was protecting the candidate. Farage is heard saying he is just showing a bit of sorrow. We also have secret footage of Reform MP Sarah Pochin from a December 2025 Christmas party. She calls her colleagues chauvinistic and says the party excludes women. Meanwhile, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has written to the Green Party to assess the impact of its "Zionism is racism" policy. Labour is escalating its own response. The party says it will end all local council power-sharing agreements with the Greens unless local groups condemn the motion. Speculation suggests John Healey will increase taxes on banks in the upcoming Budget to raise over £2bn a year. Industry figures expect the surcharge on bank profits to rise from 3% to 8%. The government is also planning to extend the licence fee to online platforms such as Netflix and Amazon. On the Conservative side, Chris Philp is attacking Labour over the economy. Philp also dismissed Andy Burnham's claim that rejoining the EU will help lower immigration. At PMQs, Farage urged Burnham to declare a national security emergency in the English Channel. Burnham replied that boat crossings are actually coming down. Finally, the government has launched a review into airport drop-off charges.

Nigel Farage has cancelled his major policy announcement today. The lobby is waiting for further revelations from an undercover ITV investigation into Reform UK. The broadcaster aired footage of party councillors who called Muslims "parasites" and ethnic children "animals". One councillor suggested dragging people from their homes and putting them on planes. Reform claims their vetting has improved but admits some individuals slip through. The government is taking a hard line on asylum returns. Ministers have threatened to ban all Eritreans from entering the UK unless the country accepts more deported migrants. Eritrean diplomats will face movement restrictions outside London from tomorrow. Fast-track visas for their VIPs will also stop. Eritreans made up 18% of small boat arrivals in the year to June. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp is pushing a different approach. He wants a future Conservative government to leave the ECHR and repeal the Human Rights Act. At PMQs, Andy Burnham ruled out any coalition deal with the Green Party. He called their "Zionism is racism" motion antisemitic. He also clashed with Kemi Badenoch over energy. She told him to approve the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields. Burnham blamed a flawed Conservative process that was struck down by the courts. The Manchester City story has also moved again. Burnham is now accused of a cover-up. A deleted register of interests reportedly shows he had two free dinners with the club chairman. The Guardian also reports the club was invited to a government trade delegation to India this week. Finally, the economy grew by 0.7% in the three months to August.

The Manchester City story is worsening for Andy Burnham. Number 10 declined to comment on the archived document. The head of the Independent Football Regulator is now threatening to resign if he encounters any political interference from Burnham. Burnham is also pushing new European policy. He wants to bring the UK closer to the EU to control illegal immigration and says deals on a youth experience scheme are on the table. Kemi Badenoch has attacked Nigel Farage over the Chagos Islands. Farage suggested he would give Donald Trump the territory in return for his silence on the Falkland Islands. A spokesman has since clarified Farage only meant American use of Diego Garcia. Badenoch called the idea mad. The military is preparing for a potential Argentine invasion of the Falklands. 150 soldiers just completed a six-day exercise that mirrored the 1982 recapture. The Royal Navy is facing its own problems. The UK's only icebreaker warship, HMS Protector, suffered a double engine failure and was towed back to Plymouth. Unconfirmed reports suggest a replacement might not be found until 2030. In Whitehall, a court heard civil servant Kashim Chowdhury used remote working and sick notes to juggle five government jobs. He earned almost £350,000 across roles at Defra, the Home Office and other departments. Finally, the head of MI5 has issued a new security warning. He says extremists with anti-immigration views are increasingly likely to attack asylum hotels.

Andy Burnham's Manchester City headache continues. He has now published details of his meetings with the club's owners after a request from the leader of the opposition. The disclosures show he was a guest at a small number of home matches. These included Vincent Kompany's 2019 testimonial where he met Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak. Burnham is also making interventions on national security. He says the recent RAF Fairford plot was almost certainly directed by Iran's IRGC. Shabana Mahmood is active on the security brief today. She has announced a public inquiry into last year's Manchester synagogue terror attack. Mahmood is also launching a root-and-branch review of MP security following Ann Widdecombe's murder. It will examine physical threats and online risks. Immigration enforcement is dominating the broadcast rounds. Robert Jenrick told TalkTV that lethal force could be used to stop small boats if needed. Labour immediately attacked the comments as illegal and said the armed forces will not open fire on unarmed civilians. Reform UK is pushing a similar line. Zia Yusuf says their policy would authorise lethal force against armed people smugglers. Yusuf also wants food hygiene and trading standards officers to carry out basic immigration checks during routine inspections. On the economy, the IMF has cut the UK's growth forecast for next year to 1.2% and expects inflation to reach 2.7%. The Bank of England predicts inflation will rise slightly above 4%. The IMF did upgrade the 2026 growth forecast to 1.3%. Finally, the government faces a new front with the civil service. The PCS union will ballot members from October 20 on strike action over demands for a 10% pay rise and a four-day week on full pay.

The fiscal reality for the government is looking stark. The IFS reports that John Healey faces a £35bn black hole ahead of his first Budget. We are already seeing the squeeze at cabinet level. Andy Burnham and Healey have rejected a request from Health Secretary Yvette Cooper for extra funding for NHS staff salaries. The Times is launching a major welfare inquiry tomorrow. Their investigation found the government is paying sickness benefits to nearly two million people without checking their ongoing eligibility. The government has officially welcomed the probe. Election preparations are accelerating. Kemi Badenoch has instructed the Conservatives to be ready for a poll by Christmas. The party is explicitly targeting the aspirational "Waitrose Woman" demographic to build a winning coalition. Burnham is reportedly rushing through laws to scrap photo ID checks in polling stations ahead of any vote. He also used an appearance on The Rest is Politics to confirm he will publish details of all his meetings with Manchester City's owners, following a direct request from the leader of the opposition. Nigel Farage is making a series of hardline pledges. He says Reform UK would scrap the asylum system entirely for five years, immediately deport 90,000 asylum seekers, and ban airlines from countries that refuse deportations. He is also claiming Ann Widdecombe would still be alive if police had checked CCTV footage of the alleged firebombing at his home. Elsewhere, AI Minister Kanishka Narayan has successfully lobbied the US to restore the UK's access to unreleased AI models for safety testing. The Green Party is refusing to cooperate with Telegraph journalists until the paper retracts cartoons of Zack Polanski and Mothin Ali. Finally, South Yorkshire Police confirm a man has died following a tiger attack at Yorkshire Wildfire Park.

Labour has safely held Holborn and St Pancras. Sagal Abdi-Wali took 45.1% of the vote on a quiet 38.76% turnout. Zack Polanski secured a solid 32.8% for the Greens. The official Green response is that voters want to keep the new Prime Minister on a progressive track. Speaking of the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham is facing difficult headlines this morning. Reports show he oversaw a £55m taxpayer loan to businesses owned by Manchester City's owners during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor. The money came from the £300m Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loan Fund. This is being explicitly framed as the first evidence of his direct involvement in decisions favouring Abu Dhabi. The security picture remains highly active. Counter Terror Police are investigating after two Latvian nationals were arrested for trespassing at RAF Molesworth, home to a US intelligence centre. Separately, the 22-year-old British man arrested over the RAF Fairford plot has been released on bail. We also have new details from the i regarding the list held by Ann Widdecombe's murder suspect. Kemi Badenoch, Rosie Duffield, Tom Tugendhat and Priti Patel were all named as targets. Back in Parliament, I am watching the Standards Commissioner. The i expects the report into Nigel Farage's donations to land within days. Finally, Thames Valley Police have admitted that search warrants used to raid two properties belonging to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor last year were unlawful.