5 important things happening in the UK today

Here are 5 important things happening in the UK today, Thursday (23 October 2025).

Damning report shows Home Office is ‘not fit for purpose’: Shabana Mahmood has said the Home Office is “not yet fit for purpose” after the release of a damning report that was kept secret for years. The review, written under the previous government, uncovered a series of perceived shortcomings, including a “culture of defeatism” on immigration, a lack of trust from other departments, and “several confused and conflicting systems”. [Guardian]

Growing business concerns around Reeves’s budget: Britain must not deter pension savers with tax changes in next month’s budget, Legal & General CEO Antonio Simoes told Reuters, adding that uncertainty was souring investment as the UK’s biggest investor battles to sell its own strategy. Simoes, who has led the FTSE 100 giant since the start of 2024, said clarity was needed amid concerns taxes could rise for savers, the wealthy or businesses in UK Finance Minister Rachel Reeves’ budget on November 26 to fill a fiscal black hole. [Reuters]

Oxford rail link to reopen as part of plans to build ‘Europe’s Silicon Valley’: An Oxford rail freight line is to reopen to passengers after more than 60 years as part of a £155 million government-backed investment alongside Larry Ellison’s new technology institute to help create “Europe’s Silicon Valley”. The chancellor has given the green light to the reopening of the Cowley branch line following a campaign co-founded by the Ellison Institute of Technology Oxford. The Treasury has agreed to provide £120 million of central government funding and the institute and other stakeholders a further £35 million. [Times]

Yellow weather warnings in place as Storm Benjamin batters Britain with 75mph winds: Storm Benjamin is sweeping the UK as the Met Office issues a warning for winds over 75mph and heavy downpours. On Thursday, the wet and windy conditions may cause travel disruption, flooding, power cuts and damage to buildings within the alert areas, according to the Met Office. A yellow weather warning for rain covers most of southern England, the east Midlands, parts of Wales and Yorkshire, and is in place all of Thursday until 21h00, the forecaster said. [LBC]