Beta

Trend

Friday, 31 July 2026

The Daily Trend

Today’s news, with the data and without the spin

October budget announcement

Trending · Finance

October budget announcement

The Independent

11 articles across 7 outlets · news sources analysed by AI, figures counted from the coverage

Sentiment

Across all Trend monitored news outlets · 11 articles

What happened

  • Chancellor John Healey has announced the first Budget under Prime Minister Andy Burnham will take place on 28 October.
  • Ministers have been told there is no new money available to fund Burnham's recent spending pledges and must make budget cuts instead.
  • Healey says the Budget will move money and power out of Westminster to communities across Britain while maintaining fiscal discipline.

Public Spending

The total the government spends each year, on public services, welfare, debt interest and everything else. This is the other side of the equation from tax. When spending outruns what tax brings in, the government borrows the difference and adds to the national debt future taxpayers carry; when tax covers it, the debt need not grow.

LATEST · 2025£1.35tn
GROWTH · YOY+5.0%
HIGH · 2025£1.35tn
LOW · 2015£0.80tn
0.811.21.4£ trillion20162018202020222024
ConservativeLabourCoalition

Source: Office for National Statistics / HM Treasury

Coverage: UK

See the full data

How each side sees it

Other News

The next most-covered stories, measured the same way. Each one sits on a board where the numbers behind it live.

The data behind

Mayoral devolution and tax powers

Tax Receipts

Every pound the government collects in tax: income tax, National Insurance, VAT (the tax on what you buy), corporation tax and the rest. This is the total, and the hard limit of what the state can spend without borrowing. When receipts rise faster than spending, the gap the government must borrow to fill shrinks; when they lag, it widens.

00.51£ trillion19501960197019801990200020102020
ConservativeLabourCoalition

Source: Office for National Statistics / HMRC

Coverage: UK

  • Nuclear submarine investment plan

    Trending · Defence

    Nuclear submarine investment plan

    5 articles across 4 outlets · news sources analysed by AI, figures counted from the coverage

    Sentiment

    Across all Trend monitored news outlets · 5 articles

  • Data

    Equipment Holdings

    How many platforms the armed forces hold: fixed-wing aircraft, Royal Navy and support vessels, and submarines. The fleet is small across all three categories.

    5049.4%2025
    20202025

    See this and every other defence figure Trend holds on the Defence board.

  • Left

    Sentiment

    Across left-leaning outlets · 4 articles

  • Centre

    Sentiment

    Across centre outlets · 1 article

The data behind

Nuclear submarine investment plan

Aircraft Equipment Holdings

The number of fixed-wing aircraft held by the UK armed forces, spanning fast jets, transport, surveillance and training types. What counts as a held aircraft has shifted over the years, so read this as a broad level. More aircraft mean more reach, lift and air cover available at once; fewer mean the same tasks compete for scarcer airframes.

5005506006507007502018202020222024
ConservativeLabourCoalition

Source: Ministry of Defence · National Audit Office

Coverage: UK

  • Bank of England interest rate decision

    Trending · Economy

    Bank of England interest rate decision

    3 articles across 3 outlets · news sources analysed by AI, figures counted from the coverage

    Sentiment

    Across all Trend monitored news outlets · 3 articles

  • Data

    Inflation Rate

    Inflation is how fast prices are rising across the economy, measured as the change in the cost of a typical basket of goods and services over the past year. When it rises, money buys less and the pound in your pocket stretches less far; when it falls, prices are climbing more slowly, though not usually going down.

    2.923.7%July 2026
    July 2021July 2026

    See this and every other economy figure Trend holds on the Economy board.

  • Left

    Sentiment

    Across left-leaning outlets · 1 article

  • Right

    Sentiment

    Across right-leaning outlets · 2 articles

The data behind

Bank of England interest rate decision

CPI Inflation Rate

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measures how much more expensive everyday life is than a year ago, tracking a basket of hundreds of goods and services from bread to broadband. When CPI rises, your money buys less. The Bank of England targets 2%; when inflation runs above that, the Bank tends to raise interest rates to bring it back down.

0%5%10%1990200020102020
ConservativeLabourCoalition

Source: Office for National Statistics

Coverage: UK