Healey backs away from cutting welfare cost amid warnings of public finance shortfall
Posted on Thursday October 29, 2026

Experts round on chancellor over ‘scattergun’ budget, saying he ducked big tax and spending decisions

John Healey has backed away from cutting the cost of welfare this parliament, amid dire warnings his first budget could lead to brutal spending cuts because of a £28bn shortfall in public finances.

Experts rounded on Healey’s steady-as-she-goes budget on Thursday, with the Institute for Fiscal Studies saying he had left himself a mountain to climb by ducking big tax and spending decisions.

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Lloyds executive criticises Healey for linking bank tax rises to energy bill support
Posted on Thursday October 29, 2026

Chief financial officer says he hopes budget measure is temporary as sector provides loans that fuel growth

A senior Lloyds Banking Group executive has criticised the chancellor for linking bank tax increases to energy bill support for UK households, as he warned the government against extending the higher levy beyond March 2028.

Lloyds’s chief financial officer, William Chalmers, acknowledged that the economic environment was “challenging” but said the government should not seek to ease pressure on households at the expense of the banking sector as it provides loans that could fuel UK growth.

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‘I earn £126,000 – but nothing’s left at the end of the month’: readers react to the budget
Posted on Thursday October 29, 2026

From a young chef and a single father to business owners and a pensioner, Guardian readers reveal how John Healey’s measures will affect them

• What the budget means for you

Louie, 24, a chef living in London, says a lot of people have “written off the idea of even considering getting a property” in their 20s.

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How £100 vanishes in minutes: inside the ‘slot farms’ targeted in the budget
Posted on Thursday October 29, 2026

John Healey has hit adult gaming centres with 25% tax. Undercover footage shows how they lure customers

The last of five £20 notes disappears into the slot machine as The Verve’s Bittersweet Symphony plays over the shop’s sound system.

That’s it, £100 gone in the space of about five minutes, swallowed up by one of the many “slot farms” that dominate the shopping streets of Peterborough.

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Computerized clairvoyance: psychics push back against AI-generated readings
Posted on Thursday October 29, 2026

Human practitioners warn computer-generated offerings lack the empathy and connection central to divination

“This journey isn’t just about algorithms or data,” an AI psychic named Urban Mystic recently told me. The chatbot, featuring an AI-generated profile photo of a smiling woman surrounded by palm trees, also said I will get married soon, that I have a pink aura and that I may have been an herbalist in a past life.

“It’s about connecting on a soulful level,” the chatbot said.

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What is it like to work when your co-workers are AI agents?
Posted on Thursday October 29, 2026

Using AI for roles from executive assistants to chiefs of staff, companies are boasting about doing more with less, creating tension with their human workers

On an average workday, Dhruv Amin chats with dozens of colleagues to get things done at his AI startup Anything. He might ask Gwen, his executive assistant, to schedule a meeting, then troubleshoot a technical problem with Cody, his coding partner. Then he might check in with Betsy for search engine optimization, or Juno for onboarding customers. If the office runs out of snacks, he sends a Slack message to Justin, the office manager charged with stocking the kitchen.

But none of these co-workers are people. They’re artificial intelligence agents, software that handles tasks without human intervention. Anything is one of several startups building them, and betting on a future where workplaces will increasingly turn over their sales, marketing, coding and other tasks to semi-autonomous AI. At Anything, there are 15 human employees and roughly 150 agents – a ratio that Amin believes will soon be the norm.

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Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend
Posted on Friday October 30, 2026

Bruno Fernandes owes Manchester United a performance, Mathys Tel has arrived at Spurs and Liverpool are improving

• Premier League top scorers

Michael Carrick and Bruno Fernandes held clear-the-air talks this week. Fernandes was an unused substitute against Bournemouth after criticising Carrick’s tactics during the Champions League defeat by Como but it seems the situation has been resolved – for now. Dropping Fernandes did not do United any good against Bournemouth, who ran riot at Old Trafford, and the captain is expected to return to the starting lineup for the trip to Chelsea. If that happens, he owes Carrick a performance. Fernandes has been poor this season and it is time he did his talking on the pitch. Jacob Steinberg

Chelsea v Manchester United, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT)

Manchester City v Brighton, Saturday 3pm

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Everton ease past Newcastle to set up Fleetwood trip after Grealish is dropped
Posted on Thursday October 29, 2026

The biggest night in Everton’s season started with a big call from David Moyes and demanded a big performance from his players. With the exception of Jack Grealish, they did not let him down. A quarter-final at Fleetwood Town is their prize after a clinical, committed display shattered Newcastle’s hopes of lifting the Carabao Cup for a second time in three seasons.

Newcastle dominated spells of the fourth round tie and the stats – registering 28 shots to Everton’s 11, although only nine visiting attempts were on target – but individual defensive errors and an ineffective attack proved a ruinous combination. Matthias Jaissle denied his team are a soft touch, despite persuasive evidence to the contrary, yet called Newcastle “naive” and the defeat, in front of almost 8,000 of their fans, “shocking”. Andy Burnham was among the many Evertonians in attendance grateful for Newcastle’s generosity.

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