5 important things happening in the UK today

Here are 5 important things happening in the UK today – 1 July 2025.

Energy price drop: Energy prices will fall from Tuesday for 21 million households in England, Scotland and Wales, but uncertainty remains over whether costs will stay down for winter. The bill for a household using a typical amount of gas and electricity is dropping by £11 a month, under regulator Ofgem’s latest price cap. [BBC]
Starmer’s welfare plan hangs in the balance: Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing for what could be the most consequential vote of his premiership, with Labour rebels warning that the government’s welfare overhaul still risks defeat despite huge concessions to push it through parliament. Starmer spent Monday trying to persuade sceptics in his party to back a revised package of reforms to disability benefits that he says are necessary to slow the pace of Britain’s ballooning welfare costs and get people back to work. [Bloomberg]

Food prices pushed up by hot weather: Britain’s largest retailers are warning that food prices are being driven up by hot weather hitting harvest yields, as the latest UK heatwave pushes temperatures close to record levels. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said rising fruit and vegetable prices had contributed to a jump in food price inflation in June, while retailers also passed on tax rises and employment costs to consumers. [Guardian]
New government app to streamline access to services: Government has launched a new mobile app that will eventually allow citizens to access thousands of public services on their smartphones as well as paving the way for new digital identity cards. Technology secretary Peter Kyle said the app would streamline access to public services from claiming benefits to renewing a passport, although it will be launched as a beta service that initially only connects to existing government websites. [Financial Times]