5 important things happening in the UK today

Here are 5 important things happening in the UK today, Tuesday (9 December 2025):

Replacing Starmer risks causing a Liz Truss-like fallout: Bond traders say that replacing Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves with a more left-wing leadership risks a flare-up in the bond markets similar to that caused by the Liz Truss mini-budget. Ousting them could be followed by a rise in government bond yields and a rapid fall in the value of the pound caused by investor worries about the country’s fiscal sustainability, warn bond traders and economists. [The Times]

Bank of England warns staff over job cuts: The Bank of England has warned its near 6,000-strong workforce of job cuts as it seeks to fund an overhaul of its flawed economic forecasts. Andrew Bailey has invited all staff to apply for a voluntary resignation scheme as part of a £45 million cost-cutting drive, prompted by the central bank spending millions of pounds on IT upgrades and changes to the way it analyses the economy. [The Telegraph]

UK households cut spending at fastest pace in almost five years: UK households cut back on spending at the fastest pace in almost five years last month as consumers put Christmas shopping on hold, according to a leading survey. Adding to concerns that uncertainty surrounding the budget has helped dampen consumer confidence, Barclays said card spending fell 1.1% year on year in November – the largest fall since February 2021. [Guardian]

Branding and and logo for Great British Railways unveiled: The government has unveiled its branding for Great British Railways (GBR), marking a step forward in plans to nationalise the railways. In the past year, the government has taken three rail franchises back into public control, something Labour promised in its manifesto. The new livery and branding uses a red, white and blue colour scheme to mirror the Union Flag and will be used on GBR trains, at stations, and on its website and app. [BBC]