Morning Briefing Thursday 2nd October

0:00This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwCWC. Staying competitive means getting ahead, not just keeping up. So how do business leaders cut through the noise and focus on what really matters. PwC takes you further with tech, from optimising the systems that put your data to work, to scaling AI from proof of concept to competitive edge. PwC helps you meet tomorrow's tech demands, so you can compete at a speed that rewrites the rules. Discover more at pwc.co.uk Hello, this is your Times Morning Breathing for Thursday 2nd October with me, James Gitch. Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to end a golden ticket for asylum seekers by scrapping automatic settlement.

0:45The government will also require refugees to earn their right to bring family to Britain. The Prime Minister called the current system unfair and not fit for purpose because it's more generous to small boat migrants than those arriving legally. Under the new proposals, refugees seeking to settle permanently will have to meet the same conditions as others applying. They include learning good English, having no criminal record and volunteering in the community. The Financial Times' political correspondent Anna Gross says the PM is responding to the threat of Reform UK. He wants to try to distinguish his position where possible from Nigel Farage and say, look, we're taking this seriously.

1:23We recognise it's a problem. We're not shying away from that, but we're not being as draconian. Their policies, what they're suggesting, goes way too far in the other direction. We believe it's immoral. We believe, as he said over the weekend, that it's racist. The PM will reveal the plans at a summit in Copenhagen, where he'll co-chair a meeting of leaders exploring different approaches to tackling illegal migration. There are calls for the Chancellor to sharpen the UK's competitive edge in the upcoming autumn budget. A report by the British Chambers of Commerce suggests the country has fallen from the ninth most financially attractive nation in 1997 to the 29th now.

2:05It's demanding Rachel Reeves scrap measures which deter investment, including the windfall tax on oil and gas companies. Meanwhile, households and businesses have spent a record£1 billion this year in electricity bills to cover the cost of switching off wind turbines. Yesterday, Britain's electricity operator paid wind farms£1.3 million in compensation for lost revenue after ordering them to switch off turbines to avoid overloading the grid. At the same time, it paid£4.6 million buying energy from abroad and on gas power generation to meet demand. That's enough to power the whole of London for a day.

2:45Israel's foreign ministry says Greta Thunberg and fellow activists aboard the Gaza aid flotilla are safe and healthy. The campaigners have been transported to an Israeli port after several vessels were intercepted and stopped. The foreign ministry also shared a video of the Swedish climate activists surrounded by masked and armed Israeli soldiers. Speaking to Times Radio, Tariq Rao from the Global Summoned Flotilla dismissed accusations that the aid attempt was a stunt. It has created conversation and diplomatic action around Gaza that we have not seen before ever. Italy's largest union just declared a massive general strike in support of the flotilla.

3:26There are people in the streets of Italy and in Berlin and all across the world mobilising in the thousands because they are sick and tired of this genocide. And the US Vice President J.D. Vance says he doesn't know how long the government shutdown will last as it enters its second day. It's after Democrats and Republicans failed to agree deal to extend federal funding, with it centering around cuts to healthcare subsidies. It now means vital funding won't reach services or employees, and there could be layoffs too. Alison Dagnus is a professor of political science at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania.

4:03Speaking to Times Radio, she said both sides are firmly entrenched. Under normal circumstances, both sides would quietly agree, all right, we need to get to the bargaining table, we need to speak with one another. But these days we're so deeply divided that there really is very little incentive to do that. There isn't the will on Capitol Hill to try and compromise with the other side. And especially when the Trump White House is saying, this is terrific, let's just keep this going and we'll fire everybody. And remember, you can follow The Times News Briefing on Spotify and you can listen live to Times Radio Online.

4:47This episode of the Times Radio News Briefing is sponsored by PwC. AI is everywhere. In the news, in our hands, but return on investment, not so much. So how do you get beyond the hype and deliver AI that powers reinvention and growth across your business? Strong foundations unlock AI's potential. That's why PwC takes you further with tech, strengthening the data quality, processes and workflows that shape how well AI performs. PwC turns innovation into implementation so you can accelerate from experiment to scale. Discover more at pwc.co.uk. Do you keep hearing podcast ads like this one, for example, but always wonder how you actually get involved with them for your own brand or organization?

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