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Rachel Reeves will free up as much as £50 billion to spend on roads, housing, energy and other large-scale projects under plans being drawn up by officials.

The chancellor has asked the Treasury to look at changing the government’s current borrowing rules that would hand her a windfall to fulfil Labour’s pledge to increase investment in the economy.

The current system has long been criticised by economists for discouraging governments from making long-term investments that could grow the economy.

Senior government sources said that Reeves has now asked officials to draw up options for changing the way the government measures debt, which could allow the government to offset “assets”, such the £236 billion owed in student loans, against the wider national debt — freeing up more money for investment.

Economists have calculated that if such rules had been in place at the time of the last budget it would have amounted to about £50 billion worth of additional headroom.

This would not only fund the new £7 billion national wealth fund and the £8 billion cost of Great British Energy but also free up billions of pounds to invest in other infrastructure priorities such as new rail and road links and capital investment in the NHS.

However, the move will not allow Reeves to increase day to day spending — for example by reinstating winter fuel payments — as Labour has pledged this must be met entirely from annual tax receipts.

In order to meet Labour’s plans to increase day-to-day spending Reeves is widely expected to raise taxes on capital gains and change the rules around inheritance tax.

A £10 billion US investment in a new artificial intelligence data centre in Northumberland will create 4,000 jobs in the UK, according to the Government.

The deal with private equity giant Blackstone will create Europe’s biggest AI data centre in Cambois near Blyth.

Sir Keir Starmer said the investment, facilitated by the Office for Investment, showed the UK is “open for business” as he attempts to woo US bosses in New York.

As a result of the deal, around 1,200 jobs will be dedicated to the construction of the site.

Blackstone will also put £110 million into a fund for skills training and transport infrastructure in the area.

The site was bought by Blackstone earlier this year after the collapse of Britishvolt, which had planned to build electric car batteries.

The plan for Blackstone to develop the site was first revealed in April, before Sir Keir Starmer's election win.

Speaking on Wednesday 25 September, Sir Keir said: “The number one mission of my government is to grow our economy, so that hard-working British people reap the benefits and more foreign investment is a crucial part of that plan.

“New investment such as the one we’ve announced with Blackstone today is a huge vote of confidence in the UK and it proves that Britain is back as a major player on the global stage and we’re open for business.”

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Steve Reed[, the Environmental Secretary,] said the “biggest ever investment” in the water industry, amounting to around £88bn in private cash, will allow the Government to “fix the foundations” of the water sector and bring an end to the sewage crisis.

Clean water campaigners have criticised the fact that bill payers will be forced to pay for the clean up of the country’s waterways, with average bills expected to rise by around £19 a year between 2025-2030.

But officials have insisted that under the Government’s reforms, every penny of cash raised will be invested into major infrastructure upgrades, rather than being syphoned off in dividends to investors.

New plans being introduced will mean water firms that fail to spend the money raised from customers on infrastructure upgrades will be refunded to bill payers.

The spending is due to be finalised by Ofwat in December when it sets out its final determination for bill rises. Its initial recommendation, published over the summer, was for £88bn to be raised through customer bills, despite the water industry asking for £105bn.
[…]
Under the plans, around £10bn will be invested in storm overflow upgrades, £4bn to boost the country’s water supply, including building the first new reservoirs for more than a generation, and £6bn in tackling nutrient pollution, caused largely by the agriculture sector. The Government hopes that building more reservoirs will increase the UK’s water resillience [sic] and support its plans to build more new homes.
[…]
As well as protecting investment in water infrastructure, the Government earlier this month published legislation to toughen up the laws that will see water bosses face jail time if they are found to be covering up illegal sewage dumping.

The Water (Special Measures) Bill, will also give the regulator the power to ban the payment of bonuses to water executives if they are found to be failing customers.

Regulator, the Environment Agency (EA), will also see its staffing numbers increased, while all investigations into water firms will be paid for by the sector, significantly boosting resources for the body.

The Labour Party’s largest-ever donation came from a Cayman Islands-registered hedge fund with shares worth hundreds of millions of pounds in fossil fuels, private health firms, arms manufacturers and asset managers.

While the £4m donation by Quadrature Capital is the sixth-largest in British political history, it is noteworthy not just for its size, but also its timing.

Electoral Commission records suggest Labour received the donation in the one-week window between former prime minister Rishi Sunak announcing the general election and the start of the ‘pre-poll reporting period’ in which all political donations over £11,180 had to be published weekly, rather than the quarterly norm.

This means that despite being made on 28 May, Quadrature’s generous donation was published by the Electoral Commission only last week, more than two months after Labour won the election.
[…]
The party has received more than £8m from businesses or people linked to the financial industry since Starmer became leader in 2020 and now boasts two multi-million-pound donors from the world of hedge funds; Quadrature and Taylor, who has managed several billion-dollar funds over his career.

While Quadrature had not donated to Labour before May, one of its senior employees has contributed significantly to the party under Starmer. Daniel Luhde-Thompson, a strategic adviser at the firm, has given the party more than £500,000 this year, according to the Electoral Commission.
[…]
Last year, the Guardian reported that despite donating to environmental charities through its climate foundation, Quadrature had holdings in fossil fuel companies worth more than $170m. The paper highlighted three holdings in particular with major polluters: ConocoPhillips, Cheniere Energy and Cenovus Energy.

[O]penDemocracy’s analysis of the firm’s latest SEC filings shows that Quadrature has since increased its holdings in Cenovus, which was this year fined millions for an oil spill that released 250,000 litres into the Atlantic Ocean. Quadrature has scaled back its holdings with the other two firms but has taken up a major $67m stake in ExxonMobil, one of the largest oil and gas producers in the world.
[…]
UK accounts filings for the firm show profits before tax of more than £230m in the financial year ending 31 January 2023, but paid corporation tax of only £5.3m. As is noted in the accounts, had the firm paid the standard rate of UK corporation tax of 19% during that period, this would have amounted to more than £43m.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to give some £4 million to the far-right Italian government to tackle irregular migration.

The funding for the initiative, called the Rome Process, comes following the meeting of the two leaders.

Sir Keir met with his Italian counterpart in Rome today to discuss plans to tackle illegal migration.

The populist Italian government, led by Giorgia Meloni, has seen a 60 per cent drop in illegal migration in the past year and recently signed a controversial deal with Albania.

Sir Keir said he is “very interested” in Italy’s policies leading to “dramatic reductions” in irregular migration.

“You’ve made remarkable progress working with countries across migration routes as equals, to address the drivers of migration at source and tackle gangs,” Sir Keir told the press conference.

Ms Meloni added she and Sir Keir had signed a joint communique including “very tangible, important points, and is evidence of the deep relation between our two countries.”

Sir Keir has signalled he is open to pursuing an arrangement similar to Italy’s migration deal with Albania, whereby asylum seekers will be held in the Balkan state while their claims are processed.

Keir Starmer is alleged to have broken parliamentary rules by failing to declare donations of clothing for his wife from the Labour donor Waheed Alli.

The gifts to Victoria Starmer were not initially declared in the register of MPs’ interests, the Sunday Times reported.

Starmer approached the parliamentary authorities on Tuesday to make a late declaration after being given updated advice on what needed to be registered.

The donations reportedly covered the cost of a personal shopper, clothes and alterations for Lady Starmer before and after Labour’s election win in July.

MPs are required to register gifts and donations within 28 days.

The Tories have demanded a full investigation into the Starmers’ links with Lord Alli, who has donated £500,000 to Labour since 2020.
[…]
Last weekend it emerged that Alli had been given a Downing Street security pass temporarily without apparently having a government role.

The row was dubbed the “passes for glasses” affair because the television mogul had previously donated tens of thousands of pounds worth of clothing, accommodation and “multiple pairs” of spectacles to the Labour leader. There is no suggestion that the peer has broken any rules.

Alli, 59, was the youngest member of the House of Lords when he was ennobled in 1998.

More than 10,500 requests have been received by Welsh councils from residents to reassess roads that saw their limit lowered when the policy was introduced in September last year.

Police point to a drop in road causalities and crashes to suggest Wales' flagship policy is working, although a recent poll said seven in 10 people still oppose the new limit.

One motoring organisation has said traffic calming measures like speed bumps should be installed to force drivers to do 20mph.

Welsh ministers said a 20mph limit would reduce deaths and noise and encourage people to walk or cycle when it was implemented in September 2023 - but it caused controversy with some drivers.

The limit changed on about 35% of Welsh roads - about 22,000 miles (35,171 km) in total - last year where lamp-posts are no more than 200 yards (183m) apart.
[…]
Statistics show a drop in casualties on 20mph and 30mph roads in Wales in the first three months of 2024, after the default built-up area limit was reduced.

The number of serious casualties or fatalities has dropped 23%, and Wales' largest police force says there have been at least 11 less deaths on the roads in their area.

The chances of Northern Ireland hosting matches at the Euro 2028 football tournament appear to have gone.

The UK government announced on Friday night that the estimated cost of rebuilding Casement Park stadium in Belfast has "risen dramatically" to more than £400m.

The government said it will not be providing funding to redevelop the stadium in time for the tournament.

It said there was a "significant risk" that the stadium would not be built in time.
[…]
In order to be ready for the 2028 tournament, Casement Park needs to be rebuilt by the summer of 2027.

Northern Ireland could have a role as a training base or host warm-up matches at the existing Windsor Park stadium, but hosting tournament fixtures appears to be over.

Plans have been in place to build a new stadium at Casement Park since 2011.

The initial estimated cost of rebuilding Casement was £77.5m, with £62.5m coming from the Stormont executive and £15m from the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).

That was more than a decade ago, and since then costs have risen dramatically.

To try to cater for soccer as well as GAA matches increased the cost further, as UEFA requires a higher specification of stadium.

Although hopes of being part of the Euro 2028 tournament may be over, it does not mean the stadium cannot be rebuilt for the GAA, which was the original purpose.

However, that will not be cheap either, and the GAA will be hoping that even though the UK government has said it will not be funding a Euro 2028 compliant stadium, it may still contribute to the redevelopment whenever it happens.

The Irish government has already pledged more than £40m.