My worst nightmare come true

It’s the Autumn Budget 2025. Critics claim Reeves misled the public on the country’s finances during the Budget’s run-up, making it sound more dire than the rosier view the OBR provided. That said, what were the key Budget takeaways and what do we think about them?

🥶 Frozen tax thresholds. Tax bands aren’t changing. Alister: This is great and a nice way to get more tax without breaking promises. Meridyth: They’ve been frozen since 2022. For salaries increasing with inflation, that means you’re actually paying more tax!

✂ Cash ISA cut to £12,000, but still £20k for Stocks & Shares ISA. Alister: It’s to urge investing in UK companies. It really only affects those who max out their ISAs, which isn’t the majority. Meridyth: It’s still a ploy to get people investing in stocks and shares when doing so carries personal risk.

🏠 Landlords pay an extra 2%. Alister: Another great move to close the gaps where the wealthiest pay less tax. Meridyth: But won’t the tax just be passed onto renters?

🏡 New mansion tax. Extra council tax levy for properties over £2m, and a higher levy if over £5m. Alister: Great! This helps address wealth inequality. Meridyth: Yes, the wealthy should pay more, but not to the point of driving them out of the country… and they are already… in droves, which will hurt the economy.

💰 State pension will rise 4.8%. Roughly a £550 a year boost, and set to keep going. Alister: This triple lock needs to end. How can we sustain this? Meridyth: The state pension is almost at the tax-free limit. Does that mean they’ll start taxing state pensions too?

🧊 Transport fares & prescriptions frozen, plus milkshake tax. Public transport isn’t getting more expensive and the sugar tax is hitting milk-based products. Alister: Yes to more sugar taxes and nice to see some benefits to nationalisation. Meridyth: Finally, this is one area I have nothing to squabble over.

Londoners have been asked to hunt for the elusive German hairy snail along the River Thames. It is tiny, incredibly rare, and sports a shell covered in hairs, which is a bold fashion choice we have to respect. Finding one might take a while. So in the meantime, why not share The AM Squabble!

⚖️ Jury duty discontinued? David Lammy wants to bin most jury trials to blitz the 78,000 court cases in backlog, while keeping juries only for murder, rape and the truly grim stuff. Critics say this isn’t reform, it’s ripping out a centuries-old safety net.

📉 Migration meltdown. Net migration has plunged 69% to 204,000. It’s the lowest since 2021. Starmer is calling it “a step in the right direction,” but some warn the public still thinks numbers are rising… proving vibes ≠ data.

⚓ Whatever floats your volt. The UK's 'largest' floating solar farm has been approved in Cumbria, with 46,500 panels set to power BAE Systems. It seems even nuclear submarine makers need a bit of sunshine to keep the lights on.

⚓ Putin's cruise club. With Russian naval activity near the UK up 30%, the Royal Navy was forced to cut off another convoy in a tense intercept. At this rate, we should start charging them a toll for the guided tours.

🕵️ Paid to tell. Britain is adopting a reward system for tax whistleblowers, hoping to replicate the success of the IRS in recovering billions. Apparently, the best way to get people to do the right thing is to cut them a massive cheque for it.

GOOD NEWS… for bigotry 😐, after Trump ordered an immediate pause on all migration from "third world countries" following the tragic D.C. shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan national. SAD NEWS… for Hong Kong, as the death toll continues to rise after a fire set ablaze a high-rise apartment complex. 8 people involved in the construction have been arrested.

🇧🇪 DeepSeek deleted. Belgium has officially outlawed the use of DeepSeek AI on government devices, citing severe "security risks". Officials have until Monday to scrub the app, joining a growing list of nations who aren't keen on sharing their data with Beijing.

🪐 Space race catch-up. Europe has unveiled a massive plan to explore Saturn and the Moon, aiming to secure autonomy from US and Chinese rockets. It is a bold move to prove the ESA can launch more than just satellites and stiff letters of complaint.

🇫🇷 Macron’s Gen-Z call-up. France is rolling out a 10-month voluntary military service for 18- and 19-year-olds, pitched as mobilisation against the growing Russian threat. No foreign deployments. Just home-territory duty and a whole lot more defence spending.

🇩🇪 Spiking sentences. The German government is getting tough on roofies, reclassifying date rape drugs as weapons, to guarantee stricter prosecutions. With sexual offences rising, this law aims to ensure women can finally feel safe everywhere.

🍑 Fungus among us. Brits are being warned about a highly contagious ringworm causing serious infections in the nether regions. Often passed through intimacy, this "super fungus" resists standard treatments, so maybe cancel that Tinder date.

📈 Growth is sexy. A new study finds that women overwhelmingly prefer partners with a strong desire for self-improvement when seeking long-term love. It turns out that refusing to go to therapy or eat a vegetable isn't the flex some men think it is.

🦵 Brain health starts with leg day. A neuroscientist says powerful legs are linked to sharper memory and healthier aging brains, especially for women. Stronger quads = more grey matter, better cognition, and a lower dementia risk. Time to stop skipping leg day.

⏱️This plastic is set to destruct in... Scientists have developed a way to program plastic to self-destruct on a specific schedule. By tweaking the chemical bonds, your takeout box could soon crumble in days while your car bumper lasts for years.

🥣 In the soup. A Campbell's executive has been sacked after a secret recording revealed him calling their products "s**t for poor people". The only thing "condensed" about this VP is his empathy for the customers paying his salary.

🤢 17 strikes and out. Whistleblowers have revealed Meta reportedly had a 17-strike policy for accounts soliciting minors before banning them. Because the first 16 attempts at trafficking were just "accidental"???

By Meridyth (These are honest reviews. We’re not getting paid for this.)

The water in my flat is VERY hard (Alister: are we still doing phrasing? 🤣). After constantly removing lime build-up from my shower, I finally decided to try Hello Klean, the shower head with a built-in filter.

Extremely skeptical, I bought just the one for my ensuite. But I was so impressed by the improved water pressure (my son said it felt like a massage!), I plonked down for a 2nd in my main bathroom, where the pressure is notoriously bad.

While I didn’t notice a difference in hard vs soft water showers, the lack of daily descaling and improved pressure alone is worth the £66.50 paid during the Black Friday sale (normally £115). In case the sale has ended, don’t worry… they always have promos. And there’s a handheld version too. (Note, they suggest replacing the filter every 3 months - £35/each.)

Plus, it was super easy to install. I mean, if I can do it, anyone can do it! 🤣

By Meridyth

I can’t decide if this video from the Miss Universe pageant is just plain bizarre or genius... I really want to love it, if anything for the pure confidence she exudes. What do you think?

But I think I lean towards bizarre, because what if I dressed up as a Hot Dog as a tribute to my American roots, or Kimchi to salute my Korean heritage? 🤔

Did you manage to survive the Black Friday sales without buying an air fryer you definitely don’t need? We hope your wallet is still intact... Join us next week for another Squabble!

Alister & Meridyth