Factories face shut downs while govt proposes new £170 gas levy; PM calls up ex-Tesco boss to avert ‘nightmare Christmas’

Households and businesses are alarmed by reports that energy prices – already at record levels – could be set to rise even further through the government’s new “green” levy on gas. The new charge will add up to £170 per year onto household gas bills from 2023,  according to a report in the Times. The […]

Continue Reading

Inflation rate surges to record rise as autumn is set to bring ‘serious squeeze on living standards’

UK inflation has surged at its fastest rate since records began with a 3.2% rise in August carried by steep rises in food and drink and home furnishing prices. Figures released today (September 15) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the highest monthly rise since the Bank of England (BoE) gained independence to […]

Continue Reading

No 10 plot to sideline Sturgeon at Cop26 in Glasgow; Tories at war over tax hike for social care

Downing Street has drawn up plans to try and isolate Scotland’s first minister during Cop26 in Glasgow amid fears Nicola Sturgeon will “steal the limelight” and exploit the event to further Scottish independence. Number 10 has been “wargaming to stop” Sturgeon “using Cop26 as [an] ‘advert’ for Scottish independence”, declares an exclusive in the Independent. […]

Continue Reading

Government will break manifesto promise on tax to pay for social care reform – Javid eyes tax hike for over-40s and allies with Sunak for rise

The government is set to break a manifesto promise by raising taxes in order to pay for reforms to the UK’s crisis-hit social care system. Boris Johnson assured voters he had a plan to sort out social care two-and-a-half years ago while the 2019 election manifesto explicitly promised not to raise rates on national insurance, […]

Continue Reading

Dowden hails new data protection laws as one of the biggest prizes of Brexit while UK’s economic recovery stalls

The culture secretary Oliver Dowden has hailed plans to replace EU data laws with a new “light touch” British framework as “one of the biggest prizes” of Brexit. Dowden said the new rules will deliver a “data dividend” that will boost economic growth in the digital economy. His comments come as the UK’s economic recovery […]

Continue Reading

Brexit bites – no chickens now and no turkeys for Christmas, while millionaires escape to Portugal for low tax and EU perks

Staff shortages in the UK caused by Brexit has forced the partial closure of Nando’s with warnings from poultry producers that the serious lack of workers means many households may have to go without traditional turkeys for Christmas. The British Poultry Council’s (BPC) chief executive Richard Griffiths said it is still waiting for a reply […]

Continue Reading

Priti Patel urged to relax immigration rules with HGV driver-shortage crisis predicted to worsen

A shortage of HGV drivers is threatening supermarket supplies with firms warning some shelves may be empty for months to come unless the government acts to address the labour shortage. Councils across the UK have also been forced to suspend waste collection services due to a lack of drivers with the Environmental Services Association (ESA) […]

Continue Reading