Headlines in the UK show a country that's losing its top layer of wealth and earners. Often these reports reveal that mobile entrepreneurs or professionals are off to a new life in Dubai.
So we thought we would ask a representative sample of 2,000 people living in the UAE what their relative perceptions of the UK and UAE are.
The poll by Ipsos for The National highlights a complex, push-and-pull dynamic.
Many of them gave the rising cost of living, concerns about crime, and a perceived decline in safety as major reasons they were put off living in the UK.
Yet, emotional ties remain strong. Britain continues to hold value for its heritage, culture, education and deep sense of nostalgia, factors that still resonate with many, even as practical realities have weighed heavily in recent years.
Our UK-UAE poll has revealed a push-and-pull dynamic
If the budget hits the wrong note, British taxpayers who have set up a new life in the UAE may find even more of their compatriots deciding it is time to move.
So, bring on the tax mezze. That is the wide-ranging yet familiar arrangement of revenue measures designed to close the hole in the UK budget.
That today is budget day is momentous in itself, given the build-up to the UK's most persistent political event of the year. And not in a good way.
Rachel Reeves visits a Primark store in London ahead of her budget speech. Reuters
What to expect. The stock of housing wealth in the country will be in focus as householders in the top bands will face new charges.
At one point the Treasury had been considering plans to raise money from a new tax on the sale of homes worth more than £500,000.
Government officials were said to be looking at a possible property tax, which would replace stamp duty on owner-occupied homes.
The "homes tax" would have disproportionately affected homeowners in London and the south-east, where properties are more expensive. The average UK house price stands at £282,766, compared with £673,000 in London.
It seems certain that some if not all of the income tax thresholds will be frozen, making for what commenters are calling the lost decade of rising personal taxation.
Mobile capital was given a wake-up call when an exit tax was mooted. Entrepreneurs are steeled for taxes on dividends to rise. For those able to put money away, there is a tighter cap on tax-free savings. The list is expected to be quite long, at a dozen or more increases.
Turmoil ensues
Cause and effect. Remember the move by the UK – as well as the US and the French – to cut foreign development spending?
Well, according to the august security think tank the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the spillover is already happening. The analysts launched the Armed Conflict Study on Tuesday and pointed out that the rise in wars and deaths we are seeing was preceded by cuts to foreign aid.
It looks at the comeback of terrorism in the Horn of Africa and makes a direct link. "The cutting of aid has impacted Somalia greatly," said Benjamin Petrini, one of the team presenting the 2025 report. "The gains that were made against Al Shabab in 2023 have evaporated as Shabab now controls 30 per cent of the country, and more than that, it is being able to exploit the polarisation and the political rivalries."
By cutting aid, western states are undermining their traditional allies and allowing armed groups to increase their influence in internal power struggles, the analysts say. The vulnerability of regional capitals like Bamako in Mali to takeover is part of mounting evidence of this ripple effect.
The price tag is huge and the third runway for Heathrow Airport is a radical venture. With an overall cost of £50 billion, the runway construction will gobble up £33bn ($43 billion), involves moving a section of the M25 motorway and would nearly double the number of passengers to 150 million a year, cementing Heathrow's place as one of the busiest airports in the world.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander described the plan submitted by Heathrow Airport Limited as “the most credible and deliverable option” and said the government is acting “swiftly and decisively” to move it forward.
It includes a new T5X terminal as well as a new M25 tunnel and bridges to be built 130 metres west of the existing motorway.
A less expensive, £25 billion rival proposal from Arora Group, owned by billionaire Surinder Arora, was rejected. It would have involved building a shorter, 2,800-metre runway without affecting the M25.
The Transport Department wants planning permission secured by 2029 and flights to begin in 2035.
The new north-western runway will allow the airport to increase capacity to 756,000 flights a year, almost doubling the number of passengers a year from 84 million. By comparison, Dubai International Airport handled 92 million passengers in 2024.
The project will support 100,000 jobs and Ms Alexander said it would “attract international investment and boost Britain’s connectivity”.
While Mr Arora said he accepted the government’s announcement, he added that his proposal had been to “avoid the M25 and bring down both risks and costs of the expansion scheme”. He may seek involvement in later phases of the project nonetheless.
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Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
SQUADS
South Africa:
JP Duminy (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, Robbie Frylinck, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle (wkt), Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi
Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed
Fixtures
Oct 26: Bloemfontein
Oct 29: Potchefstroom
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
General John Allen, President of the Brookings Institution research group, commended the role the UAE has played in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
He told a Globsec debate of the UAE’s "hugely outsized" role in the fight against Isis.
"It’s trite these days to say that any country punches above its weight, but in every possible way the Emirates did, both militarily, and very importantly, the UAE was extraordinarily helpful on getting to the issue of violent extremism," he said.
He also noted the impact that Hedayah, among others in the UAE, has played in addressing violent extremism.
