5 top UK news stories today (9 April 2026)

Here’s your UK news roundup for Thursday (9 April 2026):

UK universities in trouble

Many English universities are taking excessive financial risks that threaten not only their own survival but that of others in the sector, a thinktank has warned. High levels of borrowing at some institutions and rapid expansion of student numbers are among the dangers identified in a report by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi). [Guardian]

UK to push for full reopening of Strait of Hormuz

The foreign secretary will call for the Strait of Hormuz to be fully reopened later on Thursday after ships in the Gulf were warned by the Iranian navy that those without permission to pass through faced attack. In her annual speech on UK foreign policy priorities, Yvette Cooper will also call for Lebanon to be included in the US and Israel’s ceasefire agreement with Iran. Cooper will add there cannot “be any place for tolls on an international waterway” as ships face uncertainty on possibly making payments to Iran to secure safe passage. [BBC]

Fuel and food prices to still be affected for months

After news broke of a two-week ceasefire in Iran, stock markets across the globe rallied and the price of crude oil plunged. But there is less optimism over how much this will feed through to people’s finances, with fears long-lasting damage has already been set in motion. Even if the ceasefire holds and a peace deal is reached in time, analysts estimate it will take months to restart production and get supplies back to normal. [BBC]

Construction firms slash jobs after biggest-ever cost inflation rise

Construction businesses cut jobs at a faster pace in March while the month-to-month inflation rise was the largest on record in a survey that has existed for 29 years. S&P Global said the difference in a reading for cost inflation between February and March was the largest it had ever recorded since data collection began in 1997. The war in Iran pushed up input price inflation for March to highest level recorded for more than three years, according to the survey. Fuel, transportation and raw material costs all piled pressure on construction companies which were already suffering from high labour and borrowing costs, the survey of around 150 firms showed. [CityAM]