King Charles III watches on at London Fashion Week on the day his younger brother was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The King stated "the law must take its course" © Raymond Tang / Alamy Stock Photo
The nation collectively gasped as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on Thursday (talk about a birthday surprise), becoming the first senior British royal to be arrested since King Charles I in 1647. After spending 11 hours in custody, he was released under investigation and returned to Sandringham Estate, while police continue to search his former home Royal Lodge. The arrest comes in response to allegations that the former prince passed confidential documents to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, while working as a trade envoy from 2001-11. King Charles shared his support and cooperation for the investigation, stating “the law must take its course.” And while Andrew has of course been stripped of his royal titles, calls are now growing for him to be removed from the line of succession, with Lib Dem leader Ed Davey suggesting this is something Parliament “is going to have to consider when the time is right.” (On a totally unrelated note, Peter Mandelson’s birthday is on 21 October…)
Antonia Romeo was appointed as the UK’s first female Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service on Thursday, after she and two others were appointed on an interim basis last week, following a ‘mutual agreement’ which saw Chris Wormald leave the post. Romeo, who had been the frontrunner for the job, was previously Permanent Secretary in the Home Office, having also held the position in the Department for International Trade and the MoJ. Her appointment was however, like most things for the Prime Minister at the moment, surrounded by controversy as a BBC report emerged suggesting that Romeo faced several allegations of bullying and use of expenses during her time in the UK's consul general in New York in 2017 (as opposed to the previously believed singular complaint). Prior to her appointment, on Wednesday the Cabinet Office insisted that only one formal complaint had been made against the new Cabinet Secretary, which was investigated and dismissed. Nevertheless, reports might be indicative of a wider feeling amongst the civil service, as Simon McDonald, former Perm Sec at the Foreign Office, appeared on Channel 4 News before the appointment, urging the PM to rethink, adding that the appointment shows that “due diligence has some way still to go”.
3% – the UK inflation rate in January, down from 3.4% in December
1647 – the last time a member of the British royal family was arrested (luckily for Andrew, no head-chopping will be involved)
£30.4bn – the Government’s spending surplus in January, the highest monthly surplus since 1993
50 – number of consecutive days the Cornish village of Cardinham has had rain, which is still short of the 72 days it recorded in 2000!
12.8% – the TUC’s estimate of the current gender wage gap, the equivalent of £2,548 a year for the average female worker
6 – days until the Gorton and Denton by-election
£60,000 – reported price cap that could be placed on annual SEND school places in the Department for Education’s SEND reforms next week
3 – the UK’s medal count at the Winter Olympics at the time of writing (and all golds!)
The “will they, won’t they” saga over cancelling local elections has come to an end, with the Government forced to abandon its plans to delay elections. Amid concerns that the policy would not withstand a legal challenge from Reform UK, ministers have framed the U-turn as the result of revised legal advice. Reform is claiming victory, while the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are calling for that advice to be published. Could this be topic of the Lib Dem’s opposition day debate next week?
Pivoting away from the narrative of another Government U-turn, Keir Starmer travelled to Wales this week to formally endorse Transport for Wales’ vision for the future of the country’s rail network. He agreed that it should provide the framework for the forthcoming pipeline of projects and confirmed that funding allocated at the Spending Review will support the creation of seven new stations. Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth welcomed the investment but argued that Wales “needs more than Labour’s pre-election piecemeal”.
The Wales Defence Growth Deal has also been signed between Defence Secretary John Healey, Wales First Minister Eluned Morgan and Wales Secretary Jo Stevens. Worth £50m, the deal will ‘maximise Wales as a UK launchpad for autonomous technology and uncrewed systems’, while helping SMEs gain greater direct access to contracts, alongside helping to establish a new Defence Technical Excellence College by September 2027.
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband signed a memorandum of understanding with California Governor Gavin Newsom in London earlier this week, aimed at strengthening transatlantic investment, supporting jobs and industry, and deepening collaboration between research institutions in the UK and California.
Reform UK sought to show it is no longer a one-man band, as Nigel Farage unveiled the first members of his Party’s ‘Shadow Cabinet’, citing polling that he claimed puts Reform on course for government. Richard Tice was named Shadow Business, Trade and Energy Secretary, overseeing what was described as “a new super business and economics department”, and is lined up as prospective Deputy Prime Minister; Robert Jenrick becomes Shadow Chancellor, Zia Yusuf takes the Home Office brief, and Suella Braverman covers Education and Skills. Further appointments are expected. For the record, Reform is still definitely not the Official Opposition, although it is practicing very, very hard.
Jenrick, flush with a new Treasury Spokesperson title, delivered a speech on Reform UK’s economic vision on Wednesday, in which he: criticised the Chancellor for “unleashing chaos” on the economy, and pledged to cut benefit claims while reinstating the two-child cap. He confirmed that the OBR and Bank of England would be retained but reformed to ensure “proper diversity of opinion”, vowed to slash red tape for businesses, and pledged to make London a global hub for crypto and digital finance. He also flagged support for car-making, defence, investment projects and “the gold buried in the North Sea”, criticised the Government’s AI and China policies, and signalled potential changes to the Employment Rights Act.
US President Donald Trump changed his mind (again) on supporting the UK Chagos Islands deal, taking to Truth Social to declare that Keir Starmer is “making a big mistake” and should “not give away Diego Garcia.” This latest U-turn has been widely credited due to the UK’s refusal to permit its airbases to be used for a pre-emptive US strike on Iran and means that the Bill setting out the agreement, which had been due back in the House of Lords, is now expected to be delayed.
Trump was hit by some bad news himself today, as the US Supreme Court have struck down the global tariffs that went into effect last year. In order to impose the tariffs, President Trump used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, but the Supreme Court justices voted 6-3, stating the Act "does not authorise the President to impose tariffs" and it is Congress, not the President who have the power to impose tariffs.
The AI Impact Summit in India took place this week, with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology announcing that Microsoft and OpenAI have pledged fresh backing to the AI Security Institute’s flagship Alignment Project: an international effort to work towards advanced AI systems that are safe, secure and under control. DSIT also announced the publication of the first-ever AI Strategy for UK Research and Innovation, which marks a 'bold plan to make AI deliver for [the] UK's cutting-edge science and research efforts.'
57-58% of Lib Dem and Green voters would tactically vote for Labour to prevent Reform UK from winning in their seat, according to a new YouGov poll this week. In comparison, only 43-44% of these voters would do the same to stop the Tories from winning their seat. In a straight fight between Labour and Reform, voters would back Keir Starmer’s party 35% to 31%, with large majorities of Lib Dem and Green supporters willing to lend Labour their vote to keep Nigel Farage’s party out. By contrast, while some Tory voters would switch to Reform in left-right contests, the trend appears slightly weaker at around 4 in 10.
Self-assessment returns have helped hand the Government a large surplus for January this year, with a recent report from the IFS showing that self-assessment revenue was almost £2bn (6%) higher than forecasted. Although the Government usually operates a surplus in January, the figures show that this amounted to £30bn this year, over double compared to last January. The report stated that tax revenue has been disappointing up to this point in the financial year, but this is the second consecutive month where income tax receipts have surpassed expectations.
The OBR is helping to lower government borrowing and improve credibility, so argued the Resolution Foundation’s report out this week, with the Foundation estimating that it might be saving the UK between £37bn and £55bn each year. Despite high praise for savings made, the report does call for a series of reforms to the organisation, arguing it requires more resources and a budget set independently from the Treasury. It also supports the OBR’s ‘pre-measures’ forecast ahead of Budgets in order to reduce speculation and ensure fair access to all the market-sensitive information.
When is a Shadow Cabinet not a Shadow Cabinet? Answer: When Lee Anderson says you’re a “thicko” for referring to it as a Shadow Cabinet. We all know that posts on X have a tendency to not age well, but this one from Reform UK’s Work and Pensions Spokesperson lasted less than a month after he replied to someone repeating (pretty accurate it turns out) speculation about who the Reform UK ‘Shadow Cabinet’ would be, stating: “Thicko alert. We cannot possibly have a shadow cabinet, we have spokespersons.”
To Advance or to Restore, that is the question facing many disillusioned on the right this week, after Rupert Lowe turned his movement into a party. With former Deputy Leader of Reform UK Ben Habib leading Advance UK, and former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe leading Restore Britain, they turned to X this week to encourage the other to join them. But alas, no agreement has yet been reached, with Habib simply ending the to-and-fro by stating “I await your response to my open offer to merge”.
