Downing Street flirts with wealth tax despite exodus fears Politics The UK’s unprecedented exodus of wealthy people could be set to accelerate after the government opened the door to introducing a wealth tax, following calls for such a move by former Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock and a host of union leaders. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has all but conceded that taxes will have to rise [...]
The government is facing a wave of summer strikes – how will it respond? Opinion Public sector strike action is always tricky territory for Labour politicians to navigate, particularly when the party is in opposition. When strikes plagued the previous Tory government (teachers and junior doctors in particular) Labour MPs – including Keir Starmer – were quick to condemn the government while trying hard not to criticise the unions, with [...]
Unite’s sales boom as student housing demand shows no sign of slowing Property Unite Students has reported double-digit growth as demand for student housing continues to far outpace supply. The FTSE 100 firm, which owns and manages university housing, reported earnings of £213.8m for 2024 – up 16 per cent year on year. Rents grew by 8.2 per cent, the company said, with occupancy at 97.5 per cent. [...]
Royal supplier Bidfood ‘the new P&O’ as unions claim thousands face being fired January 20, 2025 Bidfood, which delivers food for the likes of Manchester United, Five Guys and Subway, has been compared to P&O ferries after two unions claimed thousands of workers could be fired and rehired on ‘worse terms and conditions’. The GMB and Unite unions have said the company, which also delivers food for the army, prisons and [...]
Lloyds to replace senior staff’s union negotiations with ‘people forums’ November 13, 2024 Lloyds Banking Group is to stop recognising the trade union membership of some senior employees by replacing union negotiations with so-called “people forums”.
Unite Students: Record demand for beds amid university housing shortages October 8, 2024 Unite Students has reported strong growth and nearly-full student accommodation blocks amid record demand from students and still-constrained supply. Unite told markets this morning that like-for-like rental growth was 8.2 per cent and occupancy was 97.5 per cent for the 2024/25 academic year. The firm retained its guidance and said it expected rental growth to [...]
Unions vote to condemn government’s winter fuel payments cuts September 25, 2024 Unions have voted to condemn the government’s decision to means test pensioners’ winter fuel payments, in a blow to No10 as the Labour conference came to a close. A non-binding motion brought by Unite and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) was backed by delegates in a vote on Wednesday morning in the main hall in [...]
Ditch ‘phony’ fiscal rules and tax ‘unearned wealth’, unions urge Starmer September 9, 2024 Union chiefs launched a broadside at Sir Keir Starmer, describing the Prime Minister’s planned national wealth fund as “a joke,” urging him to tax “unearned wealth” and demanding he “ditch the phony fiscal rules”. Speaking at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) conference on Monday – ahead of Sir Keir’s own address on Tuesday – union [...]
Shortage of high-quality student homes drives growth at Unite July 8, 2024 Strong rental growth at the properties owned by London-listed Unite Students helped drive up the value of the student accommodation provider's portfolio, it said in a half-year update.
Election 2024: Starmer won’t put figure on keeping Port Talbot steelworks open July 4, 2024 Sir Keir Starmer has refused to say how much money he would be willing to spend to prevent Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant closing.