Here are 5 important things happening in the UK today – 10 July 2025.
- Migration deal hangs in the balance: Anglo-French talks over a migration deal were deadlocked on Wednesday night, with negotiators haggling over how much Britain will pay towards the cost of policing small boat crossings. Prime Minister Keir Starmer had hoped to be able to announce a returns deal – under which Britain would send back some asylum seekers once they had crossed the Channel – before the conclusion on Thursday of the three-day state visit by the French president, Emmanuel Macron. [Guardian]
- Tories call for a ban on benefits for migrants: As the talks continue, Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch is set to call for foreign nationals to be barred from claiming disability and sickness benefits, as she sets out plans for tighter curbs on welfare. In a speech on Thursday, the Tory leader will describe Britain’s benefits bill as a “ticking time bomb” that could “collapse the economy”. [BBC]
- Starmer refuses to rule out extending tax-band freeze: Starmer has refused to rule out prolonging a freeze on income tax thresholds for the rest of this parliament, as the UK Labour government battles to fill a fiscal hole some economists say could be more than £20 billion. He told MPs at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday that he stood by the Labour party’s manifesto commitment not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT on working people. However, he refused to be drawn on whether extending the freeze on tax bands was under consideration. [Financial Times]
- Cabinet reshuffle on the cards: The Prime Minister is planning to use the annual long recess of Parliament, which begins on July 22, to inject more purpose into the Government and could reshuffle ministers as soon as next week. The plans will begin on Friday, when Cabinet ministers have been summoned for an “away day” with the Prime Minister at an undisclosed central London location. [Telegraph]
- On Thursday, Oil was trading slightly higher at $70.27. The pound was trading at £1.36 to the dollar, £1.16 to the euro and £9.77 to the yuan.
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