With inflation still higher than anticipated and an imminent interest rate hike, the social impact of the cost of living crisis will likely deepen, especially among young people. A new UK Youth survey among 16-25-year-olds highlights that the cost of living crisis is negatively affecting mental health and social well-being. Thousands of young people feel […]
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The AA is urging the government to go further and scrap all existing smart motorways after plans to extend the network were cancelled. The UK’s largest motoring organisation has joined bereaved families of people killed on smart motorways to axe all of them immediately. Campaigners say that 75 people have died on smart motorways where […]
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Nurses have rejected the government’s deal to end their industrial action and pencilled in two days of escalated strikes from 8pm on April 30 to 8pm on May 2. Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) voted 54% to 46% to reject the offer of a 5% pay rise and one-off cash bonus for […]
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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has admitted industrial strikes have hit the UK economy which recorded zero growth in February. Hunt has ruled out awarding higher pay deals for public sector workers to end the strikes, insisting such a move would be inflationary and have a damaging impact on the economy. Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures […]
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Unions representing nurses, ambulance staff and other NHS workers have reached a pay deal with the government that could see the end of their industrial action. After months of strikes and weeks of negotiations, the three biggest unions – Royal College of Nursing (RCN), GMB and Unison – are recommending their members accept the deal […]
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A video released by the Treasury on Twitter to promote the Budget by mocking Matt Hancock’s leaked WhatsApp messages has been labelled “contemptuous”, “shameful” and “cringe”. Jeremy Hunt’s first full Budget as chancellor – following November’s mini budget to repair the damage done by Kwasi Kwarteng and Liz Truss – also drew fire for giving […]
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Although HSBC stepped in to rescue the UK branch, the fallout from the Silicon Valley Bank collapse will likely ripple on. In an open letter to banking regulators and Rishi Sunak, technology founders and investors with a combined capital of more than £560bn expressed gratitude and relief. Nearly 900 tech industry representatives signed the letter […]
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Labour has condemned the “lavish spending” culture at the heart of government exposed by its investigation into government procurement cards (GPCs) – credit cards for ministers and officials backed by taxpayers’ money. Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader said analysis of GPCs revealed a “scandalous catalogue of waste” with taxpayers billed for at least £145.5million in […]
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Millions of households across the UK will see their energy bills soar by around 40% from April after chancellor Jeremy Hunt ruled out extending the government’s rebate scheme which ends next month. The energy price guarantee (EPG) has capped average household energy bills at £2,500 but this will rise to £3,000 from March. Simultaneously, the […]
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London’s FTSE 100 stock index set a record closing high on Friday (Feb 3) finishing up more than 1% at 7,901.8 points – beating the previous record set in May, 2018 when the FTSE 100 closed at 7,877.45. Investors are reportedly backing the UK’s blue chip firms to benefit from the weak pound combined with […]
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