Thursday briefing: Will the government reform the system to bring down our energy bills?

In today’s newsletter: As ​UK households face another price‑cap rise, experts warn that years of political drift have left us with one of Europe’s most expensive power systems, ​b​ut the tools to fix it already exist

Good morning. For too many people, this just doesn’t feel like breathing room. Andy Burnham entered Downing Street in July pledging to give consumers respite from the cost of living crisis. A day later he announced a VAT cut on domestic electricity from 5% to zero due later this year, saving the average household about £45 a year.

But this pales against yesterday’s announcement that the energy price cap is rising another 4% from 1 October, the second jump in three months. The typical annual bill for household gas and electricity use will soon be a wallet-straining £1,723.

World news | More than 1,000 people are missing – the majority of whom are tourists – after a catastrophic flash flood hit Nepal and Tibet, wiping out entire villages and leaving a preliminary death toll of 165, authorities said.

Social media | Meta agreed to significant changes to its Instagram and Facebook apps in a settlement that ended a landmark lawsuit on Wednesday.

UK news | A coroner has formally opened an inquest into the death of Jason Arday, who resigned as a professor at the University of Cambridge amid allegations of plagiarism.

Environment | Levels of a toxic “forever chemical” rose to 13 times the legal limit during Thames Water pilots for a controversial multimillion pound water recycling scheme that will pump millions of litres of treated sewage into the River Thames during drought.

UK politics | Andy Burnham has dropped his support for capping political donations, causing anger among activists and Labour MPs who have long campaigned for change to the way parties are funded.