Morning, all. Kettle on? Good. Because the week has ended the way it began – with Westminster making a mess and the rest of us left to mop it up.
The economy finally shows a pulse
The ONS says the UK economy grew 0.7% in the third quarter – the fastest for two years and well ahead of the gloomy forecasts. Most of it came from services, with computer programming, cloud computing and AI doing the heavy lifting. Good news? Of course. But forgive me if I don't throw a street party for one decent quarter after years of treading water. Mike made exactly that point on the show – watch here. Meanwhile, economists polled by Reuters reckon the Bank of England will wait until February for its next rate move, and sterling was on course for its biggest weekly drop since September. So don't spend the bonus just yet.
Piddington says no
Angela Rayner has approved plans to house up to 1,256 asylum seekers on a former military site next to the Oxfordshire village of Piddington – despite 3,177 objections and precisely one letter of support. One. The village is now planning a legal challenge. And the opposition? Chris Philp and Reform's Zia Yusuf turned up and had a row with each other at the press conference, Philp telling Yusuf to "read the room". The villagers wanted backup and got a pantomime. UKLIVE has been all over it – watch here.
On the Channel, the Home Office says small boats will, where possible, now be intercepted at sea and taken straight to Dover after the uproar in Gosport. Intercepted and delivered. In my book that's a ferry service, not a border.
Burnham's welfare wobble
Prime Minister Andy Burnham says Alan Milburn's review of young people not in education, employment or training will point to a new approach – but he won't commit to implementing all of it. Labour MPs have rebelled over welfare before. Watch this space.
Computer says no
A Microsoft outage on Friday hit hospitals, GP surgeries, schools and police across the UK. Microsoft says it's "deeply sorry" and reports a broad recovery. Half the public sector hanging off one American company's servers – what could possibly go wrong?
Justice, such as it is
Probation officers in England and Wales have voted for industrial action over pay and workloads, with the pressure from the early-release scheme front and centre. Let criminals out early, then watch the people supervising them walk out. Joined-up government, that.
The Met Police have also opened an investigation into David Walliams over alleged serious sexual offences, which they say is separate from allegations made in a Guardian and ITV investigation. He's entitled to the presumption of innocence, and we'll leave it to the process.
Your money, their reach
Worth knowing: under HMRC's direct recovery of debts powers, it can take tax debts of over £1,000 straight from your bank accounts as a last resort, as long as it leaves at least £5,000 across them. Carla Beaton and Paul Cox went through what it means for you – watch here.
Missed yesterday's programme? The Mike Graham Show, 13 November – full show here.
That's your lot. Up you get.
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The Piddington situation is a disgrace to the democratic process. I think you will found most of the pitiful growth stems from AI as the productivity improves from the clerk jobs disappearing with nothing for people to transfer to.