Water firms in England are pushing plans to increase household bills by up to 40% to cover the costs of treating sewage and dealing with climate change. The news come amid growing concern that the UK’s biggest water company, Thames Water is on the brink of collapse due to debts despite decades of paying dividends […]
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Rishi Sunak has signalled he is willing to overrule independent review bodies recommendations for public sector pay rises, provoking fury from trade unions who say millions will be left even worse off. The prime minister said he will block public sector pay rises if they are considered unaffordable because they could set off a “wage-price […]
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Conservative MPs fear the mortgage rate time bomb will cost them the next election because their government is blind to the impact of the “interest rate catastrophe”. The cost of mortgages have surged following successive interest rate rises and the Bank of England is predicted to hike them even higher this week – from 4.5% […]
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Rail strikes have crippled services and disrupted events and holiday plans across Britain as 12,000 train drivers continue their industrial action today (June 3) over pay and conditions. The RMT union claims the strikes, which began last June, have so far cost the UK economy £5 billion – far more than a settlement would have […]
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Weak demand for UK-manufactured goods has led to a further contraction in manufacturing output for the tenth month in a row. The UK manufacturing slump means fewer new orders, scarcer employment opportunities, and reduced activity overall. The highly anticipated S&P Global/ CIPS UK Manufacturing PMI survey revealed a drop to 47.1 in May, down from […]
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Labout has announced it will stop issuing any new oil and gas drilling licences if it wins the next general election. Sir Keir Starmer’s government would instead invest heavily in renewable sources – wind, solar hydro – and nuclear power “to invest in the green jobs of the future ”, reduce bills and “create a […]
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Ministers, MPs and retail bosses have warned Rishi Sunak that his plans for voluntary food price caps will lead to shortages on shelves and “not make a jot difference” to prices. Government ministers are also part of a growing backlash against the proposal to ask supermarkets and retailers to agree maximum prices for basic items […]
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England’s most polluting water company is handing more than £300 million to shareholders despite profits slumping by more than 25%. It comes a day after Severn Trent announced it was paying its shareholders an increased dividend of £261 million. Earlier this month the Financial Times reported that Britain’s privatised water and sewage companies paid £1.4 billion […]
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The Bank of England has raised the UK interest rate for the 12th consecutive time, hiking the base rate from 4.25% to 4.5% – the highest level in 15 years. The decision by the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to raise the interest rate will increase mortgage costs for homeowners. Increasing the cost of borrowing […]
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When 4 Day Week Global not-for-profit organisation launched its pilot in the UK, few expected the results to be so overwhelmingly positive. Better mental health and well-being among staff, alongside significantly higher productivity, transpired during the trial across different industries. A large proportion of participating businesses went on to permanently introduce the four-day workweek. Now, […]
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