5 top UK news stories today (4 March 2026)

Here’s your UK news roundup for Wednesday (4 March 2026):

Concerns over Starmer’s UK-EU reset

Keir Starmer’s efforts to reset the UK’s relationship with the EU are lacking in “direction, definition and drive”, parliament’s foreign affairs committee has said. A report based on months of expert witness testimony found the summit between the UK and the EU at Lancaster House last May had “substantially improved the overall political relationship” after years of Brussels-bashing by the Conservatives. But it concluded the UK “lacks clear strategic priorities”, which in turn results in “the appearance that the EU has achieved more concrete progress towards their most pressing demands than the UK”. [Guardian]

Mahmood to stop study visas from four countries due to ‘abuse’

The government will stop issuing study visas to people from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan from this month, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said, as well as stopping skilled work visas to Afghans. The Home Office said the action was being taken due to what it said was widespread visa abuse. According to official figures, people from the four countries were the most likely to make an asylum claim after originally coming to the UK to study. “The government is clamping down on visa abuse so the UK can maintain its ability and proud tradition of helping those genuinely in need,” a government spokesperson added. [Sky News]

Brits to be hit by rising tax bills

The chancellor’s Spring Statement gave us one less thing to worry about: no new tax rises from Rachel Reeves. But don’t be fooled – taxes are still set to rise. For there are measures, announced ahead of today, yet to take effect. Most significant is fiscal drag, where the thresholds that apply to different rates of tax on income are frozen. In the last Budget, that was extended until 2031, pulling more money out of incomes and into the tax office coffers than otherwise. In revenue-raising terms, that move was more than equivalent to a penny on the basic rate of income tax. Tuesday’s forecasts show that the tax burden – the proportion of the nation’s income going to the government – is set to rise further to a historic high of 38% by 2031. [BBC]

UK gas prices spike over 90% amid US-Iran war

Gas prices in the UK have nearly doubled as the war between US and Iran ramped up since the weekend. The price of UK wholesale gas prices – which reflect the costs energy suppliers pay to producers for natural gas before selling to households and businesses – has rocketed by 93% in just this week alone. The price of gas briefly hit 151p a therm amid the conflict in the Middle East, a level not seen since February 2023, before easing back to around 148p. The move followed a 32% jump on Tuesday, which sits on top of a 50 per cent rise on Monday. [CityAM]