Morrisons pledges to slash prices as price war intensifies Retail Morrisons has pledged to match prices with its rivals on hundreds of products, as the debt-ridden grocer ramps up an emerging price war between UK supermarkets. The private-equity-owned supermarket has vowed that 500 of its “everyday essentials” will not be found cheaper at any of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Aldi or Lidl. Britain’s supermarkets are fighting [...]
Inflation leaps to 2.9 per cent in blow to Burnham Economics Inflation has leaped up following the reset of the energy price cap, official data has revealed, marking the likely beginning of a long run of increases in price growth. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) put the consumer price index inflation reading at 2.9 per cent for the 12 months to July. The previous inflation [...]
Burnham takes on ‘rip-off’ discounts and subscriptions in cost of living push Politics Andy Burnham has vowed to outlaw fake discounts and crack down on stealth subscriptions as he pledges to deliver “breathing room” on the cost of living. The Prime Minister has proposed to ban businesses from advertising “rip-off” discounts and said he will accelerate existing plans to make subscriptions easier to cancel. These two pledges come [...]
Healey faces £24bn spending squeeze as inflation puts tax rises in play July 29, 2026 Chancellor John Healey is facing a £24bn real terms squeeze on the public purse due to higher inflation and will be forced to hike takes to fund the government’s spending plans, a top think tank has warned. Price growth will peak at 3.8 per cent early next year before a slow return to the Bank [...]
‘False dawn’: June inflation falls to 2.6 per cent but analysts say rises ahead July 22, 2026 Inflation remained stuck above the Bank of England’s target rate despite government promises to tackle the cost of living. The Office for National Statistics said consumer price index (CPI) inflation was 2.6 per cent in the year to June. Analysts predicted the price growth reading to be 2.7 per cent, lower than the 2.8 per [...]
Tax rises ‘guaranteed’ as Healey faces £22bn black hole from Burnham spending plans July 22, 2026 Chancellor John Healey will be forced to launch another round of major tax rises in the autumn, leading economists have warned, after a City AM analysis found £22bn of spending pledges are not accounted for in official forecasts. Less than 24 hours after becoming Prime Minister, Andy Burnham has already announced plans to end rough [...]
Unfunded Digital ID will not free up new cash for Burnham’s cost of living plans July 21, 2026 Andy Burnham is facing criticism from his own backbenches after claiming he would fund his cost of living plans by scrapping Labour’s digital ID scheme – despite the policy being unfunded at the last budget. In his first major policy announcement as prime minister, Burnham revealed today he would remove VAT from domestic electricity bills [...]
Burnham promises to ‘build new economy’ July 20, 2026 Andy Burnham has said he will “build a new economy” during his tenure as Prime Minister, promising a raft of measures to help households with the cost of living will be announced as soon as tomorrow. Speaking on the steps of Downing Street, the new Labour leader said his government would put “life’s essentials back [...]
World Cup boost fails to land UK services sector on front foot July 3, 2026 A World Cup boost failed to drag the UK’s services sector to growth last month after it recorded its fastest rate of decline in three-and-a-half years as businesses braced for the Andy Burnham coronation. The latest Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) from S&P Global showed a reading of 48.8 in June, falling from 49.3 in May. [...]
Bank of England chief economist ‘not trying to be a troublemaker’ on rates split June 29, 2026 The Bank of England’s chief economist has warned fellow policymakers over the risk of becoming “complacent” towards the cost of living as he defends his recent calls to hike interest rates. Huw Pill, a member of the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, has voted twice to increase rates to 4 per cent in the committee’s [...]