Here are 5 important things happening in the UK today, 20 August 2025.
- Air fares and food prices push up inflation in July: Prices in the UK rose by 3.8% in the year to July, driven mainly by a jump in the price of air fares coinciding with the school summer holidays. That means inflation is at its highest level for 18 months and still far above the Bank of England’s target of 2%. A rise in the cost of eating out, as well as food and non-alcoholic beverages more generally, also helped to push up prices. [BBC]
- Labour’s asylum plans in turmoil: Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s asylum plans have been plunged into turmoil after a high court ruling blocked people seeking refuge from being housed in an Essex hotel. Epping Forest district council was granted an interim injunction on Tuesday to stop asylum seekers from being placed at the Bell hotel, following continuing protests nearby. Ministers are bracing for dozens of legal challenges from other council leaders after the ruling. [Guardian]
- Middle-class households face higher bills to help fund services in poorer neighbourhoods: Middle-class families in rural areas face paying an extra £376 in council tax under Angela Rayner’s plans to unlock more cash for deprived areas. The County Councils Network (CCN) has warned that leafy towns and villages will “foot the bill” for a planned overhaul of local finances, hitting households in wealthier places such as Surrey and the Home Counties. [Telegraph]
- Smartphones are next in line following age verification rules: The minister charged with tackling violence against girls has called on smartphone makers to do more to embed child protection technology into their devices, as she defended the UK’s new requirements for online age verification. Jess Phillips said it is “absolutely imperative” that device manufacturers and the developers of their operating systems take greater responsibility for blocking pornographic imagery from children’s phones. [Financial Times]
- On Wednesday, Oil was trading flat at $65.33. The pound is trading at $1.35, €1.16, and ¥9.70.
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