🚨🇧🇷 BREAKING: Brazil has EXTENDED voting until 7PM Minister Zanin, of the Supreme Federal Court: "Considering the seriousness of the facts narrated, which came to the attention of the Supreme Court, and given the evident urgency in the measure, I determine an extension for two hours, until 7 p.m., Brasilia time, of the closure of the receipt of votes in all sections throughout Brazil." Lula's coalition filed a petition with a request for an emergency injunction this afternoon, requesting the extension of the voting time until 7 pm, in municipalities affected by public transport problems. The lawyers of Lula's campaign say that reports of failures in the transport of voters multiplied throughout the day in several regions of the country. Source: g1 / Writer: Michael

BREAKING The Treasury’s entrepreneurship adviser has announced she is quitting. Alex Depledge tells my colleague @hannahprevett start-ups are treated as a “sideshow” and a “nice to have”. “Entrepreneurship can’t be seen as a good news bonus on the margins of economic policy. That mentality is really dangerous for British business as a whole…” Depledge due to leave her role on Thursday, the day after the Budget. Read her full comments here👇 thetimes.com/article/b28ab86…

Andy Haldane interview: **The financial situation is precarious - the penny hasn't dropped in No 10** 'The penny has not yet fully dropped, including in Downing Street. You see that in us having the highest borrowing costs in the G7, despite not having the highest debts and deficits 'It’s the old [Ernest] Hemingway thing, isn’t it? How do you go bankrupt? First slowly, then very quickly. 'Keir [Starmer] lost the dressing room. Andy’s biggest risk is that he loses the dealing room. And then that’s an even more painful way to go, as Liz Truss would tell you.' **Britain is at or close to being taxed out** 'The truth is, as a nation, we are at or close to being taxed out,” he says. “And we are at or close to being maxed out in terms of borrowing. 'So for me, the economics of this are very straightforward. We have a public sector, a government sector with a balance sheet whose productivity has failed to rise this century. And we have a private sector which is actually primed, its balance sheet is in good shape. 'If you want good growth in every postcode — dear God, I want that as much as the next man, probably just as much as Andy in fact — the root is by unlocking those animal spirits and that means a smaller state, lower taxes and that means lower government spending and tough choices around that' **The economy could 'crater' without spending cuts** “This is not a hypothetical risk. Look across the Channel, not just to what’s happening in France, but what’s happening in Greece or Italy or Portugal or Spain a decade and a bit ago. Avoid that like the plague 'Because when you are forced involuntarily into making much more draconian cuts to appease financial markets and get them back on side that will, one, crater the economy. And, two, almost certainly crater your popularity 'That for me is the peril that comes from prevarication on this front. The peril that comes from not using up political capital and making hard choices' **A 'mañana' Budget does not speak to the urgency of now** 'The public finances dimension is of course a real concern for me. I feel the time to get on top of that is now because who knows what might turn up tomorrow. And a mañana budget doesn’t speak to the urgency of now 'The mañana choices will not be easier tomorrow. They’re going to be much harder. So backloading them, crossing your fingers and hoping that the weather turns, for me would not be the preferred course, would not be the prudent course, and risks next year being even more of a heavy lift than would otherwise be the case' **Banking taxes are 'penny wise, pound foolish'** 'The point that actually weighs with me most heavily is that this isn’t just about the banks. If you are felt to be a country that is in the business of doing windfall taxes — if you earn profits, the taxman cometh — that is not a hospitable environment for investors. 'It means you mark down the value of UK businesses and mark up the cost of lending money to those businesses. And that is not a good growth strategy over the medium term. Penny wise, pound foolish' **What does ending 40 years of neoliberalism mean?** 'Have you been to Manchester? You know it’s the embodiment of neoliberalism done well. Success is founded on being a magnetic attractor of capital, or people, of business and culture. That’s what the UK should become' **What does public control of utilities mean?** 'From kind of full fat nationalisation, which would cost an arm and a leg, right through to tinkering with the regulatory rules. If you’re in the water industry, the energy industry, parts of the transport industry, investors are saying, ‘Hang on a sec, I’m not putting money in here.' thetimes.com/uk/politics/art…

Labour Quietly Ditches Pledge to Cut Leasehold Costs order-order.com/2026/10/21/l…

WIPE the smirk off this man’s face. Stop Matthew Pennycook and the Labour government’s total capitulation to the property mafia. Respond to the government’s invisible consultation on lease extension and freehold buy-out rates. Use our briefing to help you: freeleaseholders.org.uk/our-…

EXCL: The business secretary has hit back at European demands for British tariffs on Chinese imports, saying the government will not change its trade rules because of pressure from Brussels. Jonathan Reynolds warned the government would not bow to calls from other countries for the UK to hit Chinese vehicles with import taxes, despite political pressure to align with EU in exchange for deeper future economic ties. Great interview from @kiranstacey in Mumbai theguardian.com/politics/202…

"It's going to undermine everything I've said about strengthening democracy if we don't respect that vote". @andyburnham on #Brexit, 18 May 2026, ahead of the #Makerfield by-election ~ via @BBCPolitics. @afneil @SophyRidgeSky @NickFerrariLBC @IainDale @bbclaurak @kateferguson4 @alexwickham @vicderbyshire @nicholaswatt

In complete agreement with @paulkrugman's analysis today on France. 1. France is probably too big to save for Europe. the potential for a serious European crisis is real. 2. The problem is pretty straightforward: the pensions are unsustainable, and the extreme right and extreme left are determined to block sensible reforms. This makes any potential bailout politically impossible for its partners. paulkrugman.substack.com/p/w…

I know people are worried about fuel prices. And I get it. You get to the pump, watch the numbers climb, and wonder why it's costing so much more than it used to.   The reality is that global events are pushing up costs, and families here at home are feeling the impact.   But I won't accept that there's nothing I can do to help.   That's why from today, you'll be able to see petrol and diesel prices on Google Maps, compare nearby stations and find the cheapest option before you fill up.   It's a small change, but if there's a practical way to help people keep more money in their pocket, I'll do it.

What is a "violation of the principle of sincere co-operation"? Sounds like a wide-ranging licence to suspend an elected government's voting rights for merely disagreeing with an EU position or policy; a further step away from even the EU's weak semblance of democracy. Brexit decision looking ever smarter by the day.