5 important things happening in the UK today

Here are 5 important things happening in the UK today – 30 June 2025.

• UK-US tariff deal begins: A deal to cut import tariffs between the US and UK has come into force, giving British car makers preferential access to the world’s biggest consumer market. It will allow UK motor manufacturers to sell up to 100,000 vehicles to the US at a tariff of 10% – a big advantage over international competitors – while tariffs on UK aerospace exports have been cut to zero. [BBC]

• Random citizens to help decide MP pay: Randomly selected members of the public will debate the thorny topic of MPs’ pay and funding at a new citizens’ forum, as parliament’s watchdog said it was launching an open and honest conversation about what democracy is worth. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), set up in the aftermath of the MPs’ expenses scandal in 2010, will send out 10,000 letters via a lottery system in the coming weeks, and about 25 people will ultimately be chosen to sit in the forum and express their views. [Guardian]
• UK economy grew strongly before tariffs and taxes: The UK economy grew strongly in the first quarter of the year, official data confirmed Monday, before the Labour government’s tax hikes and extra US tariffs came into effect. The Office for National Statistics said UK gross domestic product rose 0.7% in the first three months of the year, unrevised from the first estimate published in May. [Bloomberg]
• Ministers face showdown on welfare reform: The UK government faces a crunch vote on its controversial welfare reforms, with ministers refusing to say if concessions by them will be enough to stave off a rebellion by Labour MPs. Health secretary Wes Streeting said on Sunday the government was “in a better position” after watering down its disability benefit reforms, but stopped short of saying it was confident it had the numbers after more than 120 Labour MPs threatened to rebel. [Financial Times]
• On Monday, Oil was trading slightly lower at $67.55. The pound was trading at £1.37 to the dollar, £1.17 to the euro and £9.84 to the yuan.

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