was it ae budget for growth as the chancellor says aura gamble as some economists claim. good morning from the leeds exchange. we will be getting reaction from people and businesses to what the chancellor announced. three days of national mourning begin in spain after flash floods kill at least 95 people — the authorities say many more are still missing. refusing to run scared — a campaign is launched to help women feel safe to exercise outside in the dark. it's high fives all around, as ruud revives manchester united. they cruise into the quarterfinals of the league cup, thrashing leicester city in their first match under the temporary charge of former player, ruud van nistelrooy. another murky start. through the day it will remain cloudy with the brightest breaks in the east and south. but it will be mild. all the

details shortly. it's thursday the 31st of october. families and businesses across the uk are assessing the impact of one of the highest taxing budgets in modern history after the chancellor anounced tax rises worth £40 billion. rachel reeves told parliament she had to fix problems and plug shortfalls left by the conservatives. but critics, including the former prime minister rishi sunak, accused her of breaking pre—election promises on how much she planned to tax and spend. our business correspondent emma simpson has this report. finally, the details. as the headlines came thick and fast, labour's first budget was big in every way. this is not a sort of budget that we would want to repeat, but this is the budget that is needed to wipe the slate clean and to put our public finances on a firm trajectory. today, we are fixing the foundations and ensuring that businesses and families can look ahead and plan

for the future with confidence. but her budget began with £40 billion of tax rises — more than half of it from a 1.2 pence increase in employer national contributions from april, raising an extra 25 billion. the threshold on which firms start to make payments will be lowered, too. capital gains tax is also going up — that's the profit you make from selling assets like shares. the freeze on inheritance tax thresholds will continue until 2030, and inherited pensions will also be taxed. other measures include a new tax on vaping, but better news on the cost of a pint, with a 1.7% reduction in duty for draught beer. fuel duty will remain unchanged for at least another year, and carers will be able to earn more before losing their allowance.

this is the biggest tax—raising budget for a generation to pay for more spending on public services, much of it a big cash injection for the nhs and businesses are bearing the brunt of it. the government has also changed the rules on debt so it can borrow more — tens of billions of pounds for investment, things like roads, schools, rail, clean energy projects. the aim is to boost growth. they've taken the easy path, which is to pick the pockets of businesses. but what their own watchdog, the 0br, says is that actually means lower living standards for ordinary families, lowerwages, higher prices, higher mortgages. in other words, however much they try and mask it as not affecting working people, when labour raise taxes, it's working people that pay the price. the head of this independent think—tank says tax rises are inevitable, given the state of the public finances. i think there are a couple

of gambles here. one is spending increases are very front—loaded. they are this year and next year and then, apparently, not much after that. so will that really be sustainable? secondly, really quite big increases in borrowing. will government be able to actually sell that debt without paying higher interest rates? the government is banking that short—term pain will be worth it in the longer term. the question now is how this budget lands with households and businesses in the coming days. emma simpson, bbc news. let's take another look at some of the key points from the first labour budget in nearly 15 years, which contained tax rises worth £40 billion to fund the nhs and other public services. £25 billion will come from a rise in employers' national insurance contributions. basic rate capital gains

tax — from selling assets like shares — is to increase. the inheritance tax threshold freeze will be extended by a further two years to 2030. but unspent pension pots will be subject to the tax from 2027. and the chancellor is abolishing the non—dom tax status, which allows some uk residents to pay most of their tax in a different country if they nominate it as their permanent home. as for where the extra money will be spent — more than £22 billion will go to the nhs in england for day—to—day spending. money for the construction and maintenance of school buildings will increase to £6.7 billion in england next year, with an extra £1 billion earmarked for special educational needs. and almost £12 billion has been allocated to compensate victims of the infected blood scandal, with a further 1.8 billion set aside for wrongly prosecuted post office sub—postmasters. wales, scotland and northern ireland have also seen increases in their budgets, in line

with the changes made in england. we'll be speaking to the chancellor and the shadow cancellor during today's programme — but now let's hear reaction to the budget from some of the other parties at westminster. we needed a different budget to repair the damage done to our country and to give people the fair deal they deserve. for our constituents, these benches will push the government to do far more for our economy, nhs and care — they are what liberal democrats will always champion. i think it's a missed - opportunity, unfortunately. i was looking for the chancellor. to introduce policies and a change to the taxation system thatl would create a fairer society and a greener economy. she inherited a very challenging situation from the previous government. however, despite the fact that it is a very significant budget in terms of tax rises, if you consider the increase to the provision of public services and day—to—day spending, it is still quite modest.

if you are a small business, you will be — if you are a small business, you will be saying. _ what have i done wrong? why do i deserve this massive tax | burden as a result of the decisionj that the labour party have made? it's a seriously risky budget. taxes are up, spending is up, the books have been cooked and we are looking at fantasy forecasts, and i'm desperately worried. thoughts of other politicians. 0ur chief political correspondent henry zeffman is on downing street. we are in that moment where it is sinking in and people at home will look at it carefully. businesses are looking at it carefully. what are your thoughts? i think we had heard so much in the run—up to the budget about its contents that it is easy to overlook this morning what a big deal rachel reeves' budget was. it was going to be a big moment automatically, the first labour budget in 14 years but it

felt pivotal, a moment that puts the british economy on a different trajectory to the one it was on before. crudely, a higher tax, higher spend, before. crudely, a higher tax, higherspend, higher before. crudely, a higher tax, higher spend, higher borrowing, higher spend, higher borrowing, higher public investment trajectory. we knew there would be questions afterwards about honesty and most of those questions, as they were debated, focused on whether labour could increase national insurance for employers while holding true to the manifesto and the government is adamant they can do so and are doing so but i think there is a broader question about whether keir starmer and rachel reeves, who insisted in opposition they would not be high taxed labour politicians. keir starmer said he would not automatically reach for the government cheque book to fund public services. i think there is a question about whether that is an approach they have held true to in government. rachel argued it is a

consequence of discovering the situation they inherited was not as good as they thought. rachel reeves argued any responsible chancellor would have done what she did. the conservatives argued yesterday and will do that that is not the case. that this is an ideological labour party doing what labour politicians will do, they say. the big question is will this work. will this mean higher growth, will it mean a better functioning society, will it mean better public services. that is the yardstick against which this new labour government in time will be judged. labour government in time will be “udued. . , ., ., , judged. that will be among questions we ask the chancellor _ judged. that will be among questions we ask the chancellor later _ judged. that will be among questions we ask the chancellor later this - we ask the chancellor later this morning. for more information and analysis of this year's budget, you can visit the bbc news website. a lot of focus of course on events

in spain with the flooding? absolutely. emergency workers in spain — backed up by scores of soldiers — are continuing to search for victims of floods which killed at least 95 people. torrential rainfall on tuesday triggered flash floods in the eastern province of valencia and surrounding areas, with some recording a year's worth of rain in a day. a 71—year—old british man died in hospital after being rescued from his home in malaga. 0ur correspondent bethany bell reports. these floods have been described as one of the worst natural disasters in spain's recent history. rescue workers are struggling to find the missing. officials say it's not clear how many people are still unaccounted for. some places can only be reached by helicopter. hundreds of soldiers have been deployed to help with the rescue effort. in some areas, more than a year's worth of rain fell

in just a few hours. translation: never before in history has there been so much rain. - i can't even imagine the amount of rain that fell here yesterday. it is a catastrophe. the floods we had in 1982, when i was ten years old, were a joke compared to what happened here yesterday. in valencia, the floods caused havoc in the district of la torre. the river is some distance behind me, but the water must have risen up over the embankment and rushed down this street, lifting cars up off the ground. and everywhere you look, there's stinky, sticky brown mud. some local officials have complained that the flood warnings came too late. spain's prime minister, pedro sanchez, said those affected would not be abandoned. but he warned the crisis

was not yet over. he extended his condolences to those who'd lost their loved ones. the whole of spain weeps with you, he said. there are fears the death toll will rise still further. three days of mourning have been declared. bethany bell, bbc news, valencia. 0ur correspondent nicky schillerjoins us now from valencia. we saw images in the report. i see behind you, she talked about cars lifted up by the waters and now it is the clean—up operation and of course a search for anyone unfortunate enough to have been caught up. unfortunate enough to have been cau:-htu. , , caught up. absolutely. it will be two phases _ caught up. absolutely. it will be two phases today. _ caught up. absolutely. it will be two phases today. i— caught up. absolutely. it will be two phases today. i am - caught up. absolutely. it will be two phases today. i am five - two phases today. i am five kilometres from the city centre in valencia and cars are piled up and this is the image i have had since i got here yesterday. another car has

gone into a lamp post. along the street, complete debris and mud. we are outside a bank. four cars piled up are outside a bank. four cars piled up here with the mud here. it looks like someone's desk, a wooden desk, debris all along. down this area, you canjust see debris all along. down this area, you can just see the light has come up you can just see the light has come up and there is more devastation down there. local people have walked down there. local people have walked down there. local people have walked down the road today saying it is worse back there. this area is cut off. you cannot get across the bridge and police have been patrolling here. it is a clean—up in the city but still the rescue operation in those towns and villages cut off. the authorities fear the death toll is going to rise in those areas when they manage to get to them. they have had to do a

lot of helicopter rescues. 70 of those as well as over 200 ground rescues of people who got caught up in this torrent of water. some people describing it as a tsunami. some people said they only had about half an hour's notice from when they were told they would be flooding to the fact when it came down, washing the fact when it came down, washing the car is away. three days of mourning has been declared in the area. there is criticism on social media and the authorities did not act quickly enough. the warning issued on tuesday evening and already at that time, some flooding. thank you. the images are remarkable. donald trump has been campaigning in a rubbish collector's hi—viz vest, after presidentjoe biden described his supporters as "garbage". mr trump also posed for pictures in a branded bin lorry when he arrived in the swing state of wisconsin.

the white house has claimed president biden�*s comment was misunderstood. both mr trump and his rival, vice president kamala harris, held rallies overnight with just five days left until the polls open. north korea has tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time in nearly a year. the rocket travelled more than 600 miles before falling into the sea. it comes after pyongyang was accused of sending troops to support russia's invasion of ukraine. typhoon kong—rey has hit the east coast of taiwan, with wind gusts of up to 135 miles per hour. the storm is the largest to hit taiwan since 1996, with all schools and offices shut and most rail services and all domestic flights cancelled. england cricketer ben stokes has revealed that his house was burgled while away on international duty. items that were stolen included a diamond encrusted ring and his 0be. 0ur reporter will vernon

has more on this story. england captain ben stokes dazzling on the cricket pitch — and off, seen here with wife clare. but now the star has claimed that masked men broke into his house two weeks ago. stokes was away, but his young family were still in the house. writing on social media, he said that while they hadn't come to any physical harm, the experience has had an impact on the emotional state of his wife and two young children. stokes also posted pictures of the items he said were taken in the raid, including a gold ring engraved with diamonds and the england cricket logo. stokes said he was appealing for help not to recover his belongings, but to catch those responsible, adding that the items are easily identifiable. "all we can think about is how much worse this situation

could have been," he wrote. the england captain also thanked durham police for their support and urged anyone with any information to come forward. will vernon, bbc news. millions of hindus across the world are celebrating diwali, the festival of lights. the indian city of ayodhya set a world record by lighting more than 25 million oil lamps to mark deepotsava, which falls the night before diwali. that is impressive. it takes you a while to work out what you are looking at. very beautiful. incredible. it is the festival of lights, so it makes sense. here's carol with a look at the weather.

how are things? good morning. we have been seeing pictures of devastation in parts of spain and today and tomorrow around valencia, where we have had flooding, we are looking at further rain, not as heavy as it has been. something else we are watching is what is happening in the balearic islands. some record—breaking rainfall totals this week here and tomorrow there could be heavy rain and thunderstorms. here, it is quieter. starting on a murky note. cloud and fog. cloudy for most today but mild. the best chance we have of seeing breaks is eastern scotland, parts of the south. a weather front in the north of scotland and here we are seeing rain. the cloud thick enough in the north—west for drizzle. the wind gale force at times across the

northern isles. temperatures 13—16 north to south. if you are going out this halloween, it is looking settled, mild. wet and windy across the far north. and diwali. the same forecast if you are celebrating later. as we go through the rest of the night, rain in northern scotland will move further south and ahead it a lot of cloud, some breaks in the cloud. the overnight low between 7-12. it cloud. the overnight low between 7—12. it leads us into tomorrow with a weather front bringing rain further south. a weather front bringing rain furthersouth. bumping a weather front bringing rain further south. bumping into high pressure, so it will weaken and as it moves into northern england and northern ireland, it will not be much more than cloud with the odd spot. tomorrow brighter skies in some eastern areas but the emphasis is on cloud. note the temperature. behind the weather front, things cool down briefly in the north.

7-9 . but cool down briefly in the north. 7—9. but still mild conditions further south. 7-9 . but still mild conditions further south.— 7-9 . but still mild conditions further south. ., ., , further south. the outlook remains similar. further south. the outlook remains similar- you _ further south. the outlook remains similar. you cannot _ further south. the outlook remains similar. you cannot complain - further south. the outlook remains similar. you cannot complain too i similar. you cannot complain too much about that so i won't. the darker evenings are here and that's concerning for many people who like to exercise by going out for a run outside later in the day. research shows that around half of women prefer not to exercise outside in the dark because they don't feel safe. now a campaign — called lift the curfew — has been launched to address the issue, as our reporter alice scarff explains. the this girl can campaign has found three quarters of women changed their behaviour to exercising outdoors during winter — a 26% increase from last year. the catcalls, the harassment, the being followed. i was out running once and got my some slapped. and got my bum slapped. i didn't even realise at the time

that that's actually assault. you just kind of — you end up taking it for granted that this happens. so we hear all those stories. we hear women telling us how they just stop or they change their routes. so i know a friend of mine who loves running along the canal and she just doesn't feel she can for half the year. we know that having better reporting of incidents when they happen, those reports being taken seriously, thinking about how we plan spaces so there's better lighting, less high hedges. sport england call on the wider society to acknowledge their roles in making getting active outdoors saferfor women. having worked in women's safety for three and a half years, i always hear things about, well, why were you out when it's dark, why were you wearing shorts? you shouldn't wear your hair in a ponytail, you shouldn't wear earphones — all of these things. and i also now have to, like, send my friends my location. and it sounds extreme to a lot of men that why do you have to send yourfriends to your location on a run, but, as a woman, it's part and parcel of life. before the runners set off, they came together to write down words of how they feel when exercising alone. generally, women are really good at this. you know, we've grown up, sadly, in a culture where we do feel vulnerable and where we do feel scared and where we feel

like we have to protect ourselves. raising awareness is brilliant, but it's not necessarily changing women or female behaviour — it's changing men's behaviour around it because generally they're the ones that we're most wary of when we go out running at any time, notjust in the dark — sometimes, it can be in broad daylight, as well. you can do something today, you can do something tomorrow. 0ne, you can listen to the women and girls in your life and hear about their experiences. and, two, you can become an active bystander, you know. you can just look up and see and if you see anybody who looks uncomfortable, check in and see if they're 0k. alice scarff, bbc news, manchester. it really interests me this campaign. we will talk about it later in the programme. maybe send your thoughts. if you have to think about that. unreasonable as it is. tell us your thoughts and we will talk later. let's take a look at today's papers.

the budget dominates. the daily telegraph calls it a "nightmare on downing street" saying the tax rises have "crushed hopes of higher growth" and will "damage living standards". the i describes it as a "great £40 billion tax gamble". the paper says the chancellor hopes to encourage growth by boosting investment, but that the changes are set to cost households £300 a year. the guardian says the budget is a "return to tax and spend" and whilst it included an emergency nhs cash injection, rachel reeves has "gambled on voters rewarding the government for patching up britain's crumbling services". and the sun picks up on the government's decision to freeze fuel duty. it depicts the chancellor as a pumpkin and it's halloween themed headline reads "at least she kept it down at the pump—kins". well delivered. tuesday, next week,

the us election night. in the times newspaper diary column, david black was in touch to say on that night, he will be going to see bob dylan playing in edinburgh. that is quite a way to spend election night. bob dylan is two years older thanjoe b