The Standard

Britain’s jobless rate has surged to its highest level for more than four-and-a-half years, as the labour market continues to weaken. London had the highest unemployment rate of any region in the UK at 6.5%, up 0.5% since the previous quarter, the Office for National Statistics reports. Hikes to employer national insurance contributions have been largely blamed for the trend. But the grim jobless figures make a December interest rate cut from the Bank of England a near certainty. The capital has been hit particularly hard because of its large numbers of relatively low paid workers in hospitality and retail. It comes ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ autumn budget later in the month, when it’s widely expected that she will break Labour’s manifesto pledge and increase taxes in an attempt to kickstart the UK’s sluggish economy. The Standard’s Business Editor Jonathan Prynn is here with the latest. 

Communities Secretary Steve Reed, who is in charge of local government, has said he is “appalled” that serving London councillors are campaigning to become MPs in another country. He wrote to Tower Hamlets Council after it was revealed by The Standard that at least two of the borough’s elected representatives had launched campaigns to stand in upcoming elections in Bangladesh. Residents in Mile End have called on Sabina Khan to resign after she announced she was standing for the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) in polls in February. Independent councillor Ohid Ahmed, who represents Lansbury ward in Poplar, is also campaigning to become a BNP candidate. It comes as government envoys were sent into Tower Hamlets Council last year, over concerns about the party’s leadership, governance and culture. But are these councillors breaking the law by running for office abroad? The Standard’s Chief Political Correspondent Rachael Burford joins us with the latest.

Is the world’s richest man about to become even richer? Tesla CEO Elon Musk is now in with a shot of becoming a trillionaire, after a record-breaking pay deal was approved by 75 per cent of his company’s shareholders. It would give him stock worth one trillion dollars, if he hits certain performance targets over the next decade, including delivering 20 million Tesla vehicles and one million robots. Ann Lipton, a law professor at the University of Colorado who specialises in corporate governance and securities regulation is here with the latest.  And in part two, The Standard’s Commissioning Editor and Culture Writer Vicky Jessop joins us to review last night’s finale of the hugely popular Celebrity Traitors TV show.

Did you know Britain's courts are in crisis? After years of cuts by politicians, pandemic disruption and operational failures, The Standard’s special report explores the spiralling backlog of court cases that define our broken justice system. Defendants and victims talk about the impact of being trapped, waiting years - sometimes until 2029 or 2030 - for their cases to even come to court. The Standard’s Courts Correspondent Tristan Kirk reports on this shameful decline, and how jury trials could be axed as a possible solution. It comes as Justice Secretary David Lammy is under fire, as two criminals were mistakenly released from HMP Wandsworth by mistake - with prison governors called in for crisis talks. He went on to admit that the government has a "mountain to climb" in tackling the prisons crisis, as it emerged that 40 more inmates may be wrongly freed before Christmas.

Today it’s been revealed that “human errors” led to some grooming gang police investigations being dropped, in the first stage of a massive review of cases involving child sexual abuse. The development came after The Standard's investigation uncovered cases of vulnerable young girls from across London who reported allegations of rape from multiple men but saw inadequate police action.Thousands of cases of rape and sexual assault are being reviewed as part of the National Crime Agency’s Operation Beaconport, which has been designed to rectify police failures to tackle grooming gangs. The Standard’s Chief Political Correspondent Rachael Burford is here with the latest. And in part two, The Standard’s Chief Theatre Critic and host of the London Theatre Review podcast, Nick Curtis, joins us to review the new production of Othello at the capital’s Theatre Royal Haymarket.

Today Chancellor Rachel Reeves has given the clearest sign yet that she will break Labour’s manifesto promise not to raise taxes on workers, after delivering an unusual pre-Budget speech at Downing Street this morning. She said that after years of so-called economic mismanagement, the budget will focus on “getting inflation falling” and “creating the conditions for interest rate cuts”. But she hasn’t ruled out raising income tax. Stephanie Brobbey, a former private wealth lawyer and founder and CEO of the Good Ancestor Movement, shares her perspective. And in part two, the build-up to the festive season is here. The Standard’s Culture Writer India Block joins us to discuss this year’s John Lewis Christmas advert.  

The Standard’s latest special report reveals the dark truth behind Dubai, as thousands of Londoners are flocking to the Middle East city each year. Ninety per cent of its residents are from elsewhere, and the Gulf expert Christopher Davidson referred to it as the “ultimate liberal economic city state”, which offers the allure of low taxation and cheap labour. But what lies beneath the wealth and glamour? Mustafa Qadri, founder and chief executive of the human and labour rights organisation Equidem, investigates modern slavery in a global economy. He joins us to discuss the human rights violations that underpin this polyglot city. Podcast image by HIT&RUN

Prince Andrew will be stripped of all his titles, Buckingham Palace has confirmed, and will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. King Charles made the unprecedented statement last night, that he will no longer be able to live on the crown estate, and instead will move to a property on the Sandringham Estate. It follows mounting pressure over a string of scandals, the most damaging being Andrew’s relationship with the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein and alleged sexual abuse of Virginia Giuffre. Freelance journalist Alice Cockerell is here to discuss the fallout. And in part two, The Standard’s Head of Culture Martin Robinson joins us to review Florence & The Machine’s new album Everybody Scream. 

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has dismissed calls for an investigation into Chancellor Rachel Reeves, after it emerged she did not obtain the required “selective” rental licence for her £3,200-a-month Dulwich home when she moved into No 11 Downing Street following the election. In a letter to the prime minister, Reeves “sincerely” apologised for her “inadvertent error”, but the Tories have said she should be sacked. They cited Starmer’s argument after Boris Johnson’s fine for breaching Covid rules that “lawbreakers cannot be lawmakers”. The Standard’s Chief Political Correspondent Rachael Burford is here with the latest. And in part two The Standard’s Chief Theatre Critic and host of The London Theatre Review podcast, Nick Curtis, is here to review Ella Hickson’s adaptation of Peter Pan, from the Royal Shakespeare Company, which is showing at The Barbican Centre.