5 important things happening in the UK today

Here are 5 important things happening in the UK today, Wednesday (1 October 2025).

Starmer pledges to never surrender the flag: Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared that Labour would “never surrender” the country’s flag as he launched an attack on Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Downing Street insiders believe that framing the next general election as a straight choice between Reform’s Nigel Farage and Starmer will swing wavering voters towards Labour. [Telegraph]

Business confidence hits record low over fears of more tax rises: Fears that Rachel Reeves will land businesses with further tax increases in the November budget have driven confidence in the UK economy to the lowest level in almost a decade. An index of economic sentiment among business leaders produced by the Institute of Directors, a lobby group, fell to -74 in September from -61 in the previous month, the lowest reading since the survey began in 2016. [Times]

Britons preparing to ration energy as Ofgem price cap rises: The majority of British households expect to restrict their home heating this winter to try to keep rising costs in check, according to research released as the price cap that dictates most bills rose again. The fuel poverty charity National Energy Action said 58% of households told its survey they were likely to trim their energy use, a nine-percentage-point increase from the level in January. [Guardian]

New NHS system comes into effect from today: All GP surgeries in England are required to offer online appointment bookings from today. Practices must keep their websites and app services available from at least 08h00 to 18h30, Monday through Friday, for non-urgent appointments, medication queries and admin requests. [Sky News]