Chancellor Rachel Reeves MP leaving 11 Downing Street after it was revealed that she had failed to obtain a rental license to let out her property in Dulwich Wood. © ZUMA Press, Inc.
In the week where the Renters’ Rights Bill received Royal Assent, the Chancellor found herself in some housing-related hot water after it emerged she’d rented out a home without the correct license. After becoming Chancellor, Reeves listed her home for rent in an area subject to Southwark Council’s ‘selective licensing’ scheme but it was revealed this license was not applied for… The blame game begun, the Tories smelt blood and called for her resignation, and it all began to feel like Angela Rayner wouldn’t be the most recent Cabinet member to be brought down by housing. On Wednesday evening an exchange of letter between the Prime Minister and Reeves was published - Reeves apologised, saying she did not know a license was necessary, and Starmer said the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards had confirmed an investigation was not necessary. Case closed? Far from it. Less than 24 hours later an exchange of emails between Reeves’ husband (himself a senior civil servant) were released, which showed the estate agent had agreed to apply for the license (meaning the Reeves’ household was aware of the need for one), but after a ‘sudden resignation’ of the property manager this was not followed up on…Cue another exchange of letters, in which the Advisor Laurie Magnus said it was ‘regrettable’ that the information was not all provided up front, but that there was ‘no evidence of bad faith’. The PM’s letter to Reeves, which oozed frustration, gave Reeves a ticking off and said that ‘it would clearly have been better if you and your husband had conducted a full trawl through all email correspondence with the estate agency before writing to me yesterday’.
In other Chancellor-related news, the Prime Minister refused to recommit to the Labour manifesto commitment of not raising National Insurance (on employees), Income Tax or VAT this week, when offered the chance at PMQs by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch. This added fuel to the already well-stoked fire, and left the media and politicians wondering quite what this could mean. The Resolution Foundation, a favourite of Labour, have recommended increasing Income Tax by 2p while cutting National Insurance by 2p, which would allow the Chancellor to argue that taxes on ‘working people’ were not being changed, but would instead impact those such as pensioners and landlords who do not pay national insurance. The Resolution Foundation said this could help to raise £6bn, while much of the media are expecting the freeze on income tax thresholds to be extended beyond its current end date of 2027-28. Just under four weeks to go until the Budget on 26 November.
17% - Labour’s current polling in YouGov’s latest voting intention survey… their lowest ever score putting them in joint second with the Conservatives, behind Reform UK on 27%. (See below for more on the latest polls)
1.2 million – children living in long-term workless households in 2024, up 1.2% on the previous year according to stats out this week.
42.3% - predicted increase in households with a person over the age of 85 living there, by 2032, according to the latest projections by the ONS… from 1.1 to 1.5 million.
£38,400 – how much in rent Rachel Reeves’ tenants may be able to claim back following revelations she did not have a license to rent out her house.
108 – years since a member of the British Royal Family lost his status as a Prince… when the Crown Prince of Hanover Ernest Augustus (who until 1915 was also the Duke of Cumberland) was de-princed by King George V for backing Germany in the First World War.
£8 billion – value of a deal to sell Typhoon fighter jets to Turkey, signed by Keir Starmer on a visit to Ankara on Monday.
38,042 – prisoners who have been released early since September 2024 (more details below).
Keir Starmer met with General Secretary Tô Lâm of Vietnam, where the two leaders welcomed the new UK-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and committed to deeper cooperation across trade, security, climate action, migration, and education. During the meeting, a deal was struck between Starmer and Lâm, aiming to cut red tape and make it faster and easier to return Vietnamese migrants with no right to be in the UK. According to the latest Government data, Vietnamese nationals accounted for 17% of small boat arrivals in the six months to June 2024.
Buckingham Palace has initiated a formal process to remove Prince Andrew’s remaining styles, titles and honours, meaning he will now assume the name Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. The decision, authorised by the King, follows continued scrutiny of Andrew’s association with Jeffrey Epstein and forms part of a wider effort to distance the institution from the controversy. He has also been served with notice to leave Royal Lodge in Windsor.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy launched the new Town of Culture competition. Building on the success of the Cities and Culture programme, which has spotlighted Derry, Hull, and Coventry, and this year, Bradford, the new initiative aims to bring similar cultural and economic recognition and benefits to smaller communities. Announcing the scheme, Nandy expressed that too many towns have been “written out of the national story” and that the title would “shine a light on the places that have shaped our cultural life.”
Nearly 40,000 prisoners have been released early since September 2024. Figures from the Ministry of Justice confirmed that 38,042 prisoners were freed under the early release scheme between September 2024 and June 2025, as part of an emergency response to help ease overcrowding in Britain's prisons.
On the topic of releases… Hadush Kebatu, the Epping migrant who was mistakenly freed from prison last Friday, was re-arrested in North London over the weekend and has now been deported to Ethiopia, following a £500 payment after threatening to disrupt his removal.
Ofgem announced a plan to ‘reset and reform’ growing energy debt, through helping around 195,000 customers by writing off up to £500m. Chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee Bill Esterson responded harshly – accusing Ofgem of ignoring the Committee's recommendations to use £4bn of excess energy network profits to write off £4bn of consumer debt. ‘Completely inadequate,’ he stated on Twitter.
The Renters’ Rights Bill received Royal Assent this week, after completing its passage through Parliament. The Act has been described as the most significant overhaul of the private rented sector in decades, abolishing Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions and giving renters the right to end tenancies with two months’ notice. It also introduces a national ‘Decent Homes Standard’ and implements Awaab’s Law, obliging landlords to repair serious hazards such as mould within a set timeframe.
The UK and Türkiye have signed a deal for 20 Typhoon fighter jets worth up to £8bn, which will help sustain a 20,000 strong UK workforce, alongside bolstering NATO’s strength in a key strategic region and enhancing interoperability between the UK and Turkish air forces. First deliveries are expected in 2030.
Knife surrender schemes and police operations have removed almost 60,000 knives from the streets of England and Wales over the past year, including 7,512 handed in under the ninja sword compensation scheme, 3,334 seized by Border Force, and 618 recovered through County Lines Programme operations.
Financial Secretary to the Treasury Lord Livermore has been appointed to oversee Labour’s election campaigns, having previously run the campaign for Ed Miliband’s unsuccessful general election campaign as party leader in 2015.
The Victims and Courts Bill completed its stages in the Commons this week, marking the start of a busy week for the green benches. The MoJ returned on Wednesday for the Sentencing Bill, which also completed its passage in the Commons this week and now moved to the Lords. Tuesday saw the Conservatives lead Opposition Day debates on Stamp Duty and the China Spy case, with the week ending on Backbench Business debates on property service charges; and end of life care. Nigel Farage MP also made an appearance in the main Chamber this week, to deliver a Ten Minute Rule Motion on his European Convention of Human Rights (Withdrawal) Bill. Westminster Hall saw topics such as funding for the International Baccalaureate in state schools; the Government’s review of parental leave and Government support for lifeboats debated.
Ping Pong is to continue as the Lords passed motions that insist on amendments to the Employment Rights Bill previously voted down by the Commons this week. Key opposition amendments surround the offering of guaranteed hours and the provision of day one rights, with Peers instead calling for the reduction of the qualifying period for bringing an unfair dismissal claim from the current two years to six months. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill returned yet again for day 3 and 4 of its report stage, and will continue again next week. Aside from legislation, peers this week asked questions on the national security threat of undersea cables; the benefits to human health of a predominately plant based diet; ensuring universities tackle antisemitism and the situation in El Fasher in Sudan.
The Government must repeal the two-child benefit cap in full if it wants to significantly reduce child poverty, says the Resolution Foundation’s latest report, ahead of the expected publication of the Child Poverty Strategy in November. It stated that there is ‘simply no form of partial repeal’ that would result in child poverty rates being lower in 2029-30 than they were in 2024-25, and warned that without further action, child poverty will hit a ‘historic high’ by the end of the Parliament.
65% of white people feel well represented in advertising, following Reform MP Sarah Pochin’s remarks last week, according to YouGov’s polling. However, 27% feel they are not, and 41% of Britons overall (but only 18% of ethnic minority Bitons) say that diversity in advertising has ‘gone too far’, rising to 58% among the over 65s.
The Greens are polling in second place, according to Find Out Now’s latest results. It places Reform on 31%, the Greens on 17%, Labour and the Tories on 16% and the Lib Dems on 12%. These results are, of course, well within the margin of error (and likely wouldn’t be reflected in Commons seats) – but it’s a margin of error the two mainstream political parties never expected to face. It’ll be unwelcome news for Labour’s newly appointed National Campaign Coordinator Lord Livermore.
Parliament’s chattiest member – Jim Shannon, who has made a whopping 1,729 spoken contributions this Parliament alone – spoke in a Westminster Hall debate (where else?) on obesity and fatty liver disease this week to share a personal anecdote about changing his eating habits in his usual good humoured way. Describing himself as previously being a “big fat pudding”, he chalked it up to stress… and perhaps the five Chinese takeaways and two bottles of Coca Cola he’d been eating… We’ve all had weeks like that Jim!
