Here are 5 important things happening in the UK today, Wednesday (19 November 2025):
- Number of Britons leaving the UK higher than previously thought: The number of British nationals who left the UK last year has risen from 77,000 to 257,000, according to revised immigration statistics. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has changed its methods for calculating immigration by using people’s interaction with public authorities as opposed to surveys. [Sky News]
- UK inflation rate falls for the first time since March: The UK inflation rate fell to 3.6% in the year to October, the lowest rate for four months. Prices rose more slowly over the year, thanks to gas and electricity prices increasing less than they did this time last year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. [BBC]
- Markets on edge ahead of Reeves’s budget: Britain’s markets face a major test in next week’s budget, with the outlook for bonds, stocks and sterling all hinging on Finance Minister Rachel Reeves striking the right balance between fiscal restraint and support for growth. Investors were rattled on Friday by news that Reeves has no plans to raise income tax due to improved fiscal forecasts, just days after she appeared to signal a hike to underpin her own financial rules. [Reuters]
- NHS failing to cut waiting times: The NHS has failed to cut waiting times as promised in its recovery plan despite billions of pounds in investment, the public accounts committee (PAC) has warned. The influential parliamentary committee’s verdict raises serious doubts over whether Labour can fulfil its key pledge to voters to “fix the NHS” by ensuring that patients can once again get hospital care within 18 weeks by 2029. [Guardian]
- On Wednesday, Oil was trading flat at $64.62. The pound is trading at $1.31, €1.13, and ¥9.35.
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