The succession of PMs have all spoken out on who or what has caused the state of UK finances. They’re all partly right, but conveniently miss out one or two other key reasons
Covid-19 ripped a £400bn hole in the government’s finances. The money was used largely to support the economy and it succeeded in allowing industries and workers to bounce back once restrictions were lifted.
Continue reading...Nepali workers who quit jobs and borrowed cash to come to UK are out of work just weeks after arriving
Nepali workers hired to pick fruit on British farms say they have been left thousands of pounds in debt after being sent home only weeks after they arrived.
The fruit pickers were recruited under the government’s seasonal worker scheme and say they were offered work for six months. But less than two months after arriving, they were told they were no longer needed and instructed to book flights home.
Continue reading...The heavy presence of lobbyists from Moscow suggests Russia is using the climate talks to drum up business
Russian oligarchs and executives from multiple companies under international sanctions are among the lobbyists currently attending Cop27 in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Among those at the pivotal climate talks are the billionaire and former aluminium magnate Oleg Deripaska, who is under UK sanctions, and the billionaire Andrey Melnichenko, the former head of the Russian fertiliser company the EuroChem group, who has been targeted with individual sanctions by the European Union which he disputed, calling them “absurd and nonsensical”.
Continue reading...Town halls and finance firms say they support LGBT rights but send money to World Cup host where homosexuality is illegal
The rainbow flag flew above the Bourne Corn Exchange as South Kesteven council embraced LGBT history month.
A year after voting against such a gesture the Lincolnshire local authority declared itself pleased “to celebrate and recognise the […] rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people”, hoisting the flag outside its headquarters in 2019.
Continue reading...One backer of ex-PM says ‘that wasn’t what was going on’, as Jeremy Hunt also appears to dispute version of events
Kwasi Kwarteng’s claims that he tried to get Liz Truss to slow down her financial plans have been challenged by her allies.
In his first interview since he was sacked as chancellor by Truss, Kwarteng said he had told the then prime minister to be more cautious with their £45bn programme of tax cuts.
Continue reading...Authority lent total of £655m over four years to owner of 53 solar parks across Britain
One of the country’s largest solar farm owners has entered administration amid the fallout from a scandal that forced an Essex council leader to resign.
Administrators at Interpath Advisory have been appointed to Toucan Energy Holdings, which owns a portfolio of 53 solar parks with a combined capacity of 513 megawatts across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Continue reading...Concerns grow that people relying on communal heating may not receive state discount promised
Thousands of people living in homes with centrally supplied electricity are still waiting to hear if and when the UK government will pay them the £400 promised under the energy bills support scheme.
While those living in conventional homes with standard electricity meters are due to receive their second monthly payment of £66, concern is growing among some of the several hundred thousand households that receive their electricity via a communal supply that they will not see any of the money they have been promised.
Continue reading...Unprepared system leaves unemployed Americans vulnerable to poverty, losing homes and struggling to pay bills or feed families
The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic left millions of Americans jobless in the US, overwhelmingly state unemployment benefit systems that did not have the staffing, technology or resources to handle the influx of those who lost their jobs.
Federal pandemic relief added an additional $600 a week to unemployment benefits which was cut to $300 a week, as most state benefits provide only a fraction of the value of weekly wages for the average worker.
Continue reading...Amid higher costs and worker shortages, British Chambers of Commerce says Brexit is another factor
When the minor ups and downs caused by the extra bank holiday for the Queen’s funeral are stripped out of the latest GDP figures, it is clear the long decline of Britain’s industrial base has accelerated.
Protected by the government through the coronavirus pandemic, this year, factory owners say ministers have abandoned them to cope with a long recession without so much as a glance in their direction.
Continue reading...Airport vows passengers will not face daily cap during biggest festive getaway in three years
Heathrow airport has said it is prepared for the biggest Christmas getaway in three years and promised that passengers will not have to face a return of the daily cap that was introduced as summer holiday travel descended into chaos.
Europe’s busiest airport, which said last month that on the busiest travel days over the festive period travellers may have to fly outside peak times to manage the festive rush, said it was working on contingency plans for potential strike action over the period.
Continue reading...Founder Sam Bankman-Fried races to find funds to fill multibillion-dollar hole in exchange
The Bahamas securities regulator has frozen the assets of the Bahamas subsidiary of FTX, as the world’s second largest cryptocurrency exchange struggles for survival.
The Securities Commission of the Bahamas said on Thursday it had frozen the assets of FTX Digital Markets and related parties, as well appointing a liquidator for the unit.
Continue reading...Bureau of Labor Statistics data represents decrease from September but core inflation rate remains high
Prices of goods and services in the US were up 7.7% in October compared with the same time last year, a sign that inflation is slowly starting to cool after reaching decades-high records over the last few months.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday that in October, the consumer price index showed a 7.7% rise in prices over the last 12 months, a 0.5 percentage-point decrease from September, which saw a rate of 8.2%. The October inflation rate is the lowest since January, when rates rose to 7.5%.
Continue reading...Dollar slides and stocks rally in New York on hopes that the Federal Reserve will slow its interest rate rises
The cost of living crisis is driving UK food banks to “breaking point” with almost 1.3m emergency parcels given to people over just six months.
The Trussell Trust charity has said families face record-breaking levels of need, with one in five individuals referred to its network now coming from working households.
Continue reading...Sharp rise in people leaving labour market in past three years could be related to home working since Covid
Back and neck injuries caused by working from home during the Covid pandemic has been identified by the UK’s official number crunchers as a possible factor contributing to a sharp rise in people leaving the labour market over the past three years.
The Office for National Statistics said there had been a marked increase in disabilities often associated by medical experts with excessive screen use, after the increase in the number of people home working while offices were shut during the pandemic.
Continue reading...Firm reports £63m profit in year to August and prepares for strong Christmas sales at travel hubs
WH Smith will pay a dividend for the first time in three years as it expects a strong Christmas after a return to foreign holidays helped the books-to-stationery retailer return to the black.
The company reported a £63m profit in the year to August, after a loss of £116m a year earlier, as sales soared 58% to £1.4bn.
Continue reading...Aslef union says drivers at 12 companies will take action over pay
Train drivers are to stage another 24-hour strike later this month, disrupting rail services across Britain and dampening hopes of an imminent end to the dispute.
Aslef said drivers at 12 companies would take action on Saturday 26 November, as the union presses for a pay offer.
Continue reading...Shadow climate minister says Britain is losing the race to create green jobs
Labour has accused the government of being “highly irresponsible” in sidelining a crucial piece of energy legislation, arguing that Britain is “losing the race” to create green jobs.
The energy security bill was published in July with the aim of boosting domestic, low-carbon power supplies and bringing down energy costs.
Continue reading...Critics say everyday UK consumer spending has funnelled billions to controversial World Cup host since 2010
Some of the UK’s largest listed companies including water and energy giants have handed almost £500m to Qatari state-owned investors this year, raising concerns that blue-chip company profits are supporting the controversial World Cup host.
The dividend payouts are the result of the Gulf nation’s investments in a raft of FTSE 100 firms, including Barclays, Shell and utility firm Severn Trent, which have reported strong profits amid a cost of living crisis and the worst UK drought in centuries.
Continue reading...Defence officials say there is an issue with hydrogen sulphide in the vessels’ waste systems. Follow the day’s news live
Coalition’s staff cap has fuelled lack of payment integrity, Shorten says
Bill Shorten goes on to criticise the NDIS staff cap implemented by the Coalition government:
When there were 180,000 participants in the scheme, the staff numbers were around 3,500 to 4,000. And the government of the day said, ‘OK, no more staff.’
Now the scheme has half a million people-plus, and what’s happened is that we’ve brought in contractors or labour hire or partners in the community and the scheme hasn’t been well, in my opinion, supervised and well loved.
I don’t blame someone for seeking to get support for the child. What does make me wonder is the state school systems providing the support for kids with developmental and learning delays? Are they doing enough or not? How can you force their hand to do it so that these people aren’t going on the NDIS?
Originally, when the NDIS was created, it was to be a 50/50 split, at the moment the federal government is paying 64% to 66% of the scheme and states are paying in the mid 30s.
Continue reading...RSA chief executive says more than a century of progress was now going into reverse
The worsening health of the British people is holding back economic growth for the first time since the Industrial Revolution after years of underinvestment in services, Andy Haldane has warned.
The chief executive of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) said more than a century of progress on health and wellbeing was going into reverse, with a direct impact on the economy and the cost of living emergency.
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