Here are 5 important things happening in the UK today, Friday (7 November 2025):
- Reeves plans to raise income tax in the upcoming budget: Rachel Reeves has told the budget watchdog that she plans to increase income tax as she seeks to repair the public finances. The chancellor has informed the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that a rise in personal taxation is one of the “major measures” on tax and spending that she is preparing to announce later this month. [The Times]
- MPs urge Reeves to raise gambling taxes: The chancellor should ignore “scaremongering” by gambling firms and raise taxes on the £11bn sector’s most harmful products, MPs on the influential Treasury select committee have said. In a scathing report, delivered as Rachel Reeves’s Treasury team is finalising her second budget as chancellor, MPs accused the sector of hiding its more “insidious” products behind traditional activities such as horse racing and seaside arcades. [Guardian]
- ITV in talks to sell television business to Sky: ITV has said it is in “preliminary” discussions to sell its television business to Sky for £1.6bn. The talks focus on ITV’s Media and Entertainment division, which includes its TV channels as well as its streaming service, ITV X. The discussions with Sky, which is owned by US-based Comcast, come as the television industry faces fierce competition from streaming services such as Netflix and Disney. [BBC]
- Vodafone to launch satellite constellation for Europe: Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile said on Friday they planned to establish a satellite constellation aimed at delivering satellite-to-smartphone connectivity for commercial and government applications across Europe. The companies said the constellation’s operational centre would be in Germany, with potential sites near Munich or Hannover under consideration.
- On Friday, Oil was trading higher at $64.07. The pound is trading at $1.31, €1.14, and ¥9.34.
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