5 important things happening in the UK today

Here are 5 important things happening in the UK today, Friday (9 January 2026):

• Extensive travel disruption expected as Storm Goretti leaves thousands without power: Almost 71,500 properties lost power across England and Wales during the height of Storm Goretti, according to the National Grid’s map of outages. Many train companies urged commuters not to travel today as there is significant disruption to some services, according to the National Rail website. [SkyNews]
• UK housebuilding at lowest level since the pandemic: UK housebuilding is battling its deepest downturn since the pandemic, despite Labour’s pledge to build 1.5 million new homes by 2030. Unlike the broader construction industry, housebuilding continued to decline in December, according to new figures from S&P Global. The rating agency’s housebuilding subindex fell to 33.5 in December, down from 35.4 a month earlier and the lowest reading since May 2020, when pandemic restrictions triggered a sudden drop in activity. The figures are likely to pile further pressure on Sir Keir Starmer, who has vowed to build 300,000 new homes a year. [The Telegraph]
• More businesses call to be included in pub rates backtrack: High street shops, pharmacies and music venues have called on Rachel Reeves to axe the looming increases to business rates for them as well as pubs. The government is expected to announce a climbdown on the increases to business rates bills faced by pubs in England in the coming days. Landlords and pub owners have been fiercely critical of the impending hikes, with more than 1,000 pubs banning Labour MPs from their premises. But other lobby groups and backbench MPs have urged the government to widen the relief, saying many other kinds of businesses will not be able to pay the higher bills. [BBC]
• Concerns grow over UK’s shadow banking sector: The UK Treasury has a “limited grasp” of concerns linked to the booming shadow banking sector and may not be prepared for risks the unregulated industry poses to financial stability, peers have said. While a lack of data makes it hard to say whether the $16 trillion (£12 trillion) non-bank financial sector could bring the wider financial system to its knees, officials do not seem to be alive to the potential risks, according to a Lords’ financial services regulation committee report. [Guardian]
• On Friday, Oil was trading higher at $61.41. The pound is trading at $1.34, €1.15, and ¥9.38.

Now read: How much money you could save by doing ‘Dry January’ in the UK