UK inflation to rise as summer spending pushes up hotels and airfares August 17, 2025 UK inflation is set to have edged higher last month as summer spending pushed up flight and hotel costs, and food prices continue to climb. One economist said an “Oasis bump” could have contributed to higher accommodation prices in July. Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation is widely expected to have increased in July, from the [...]
AI to help slash NHS hospital discharge delays, officials say August 16, 2025 Technology is being piloted to help free up NHS hospital beds which are occupied by people fit to be sent home, officials have announced. The platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help complete the documents needed to discharge patients, potentially saving hours of delays. The move will allow doctors to spend less time on paperwork [...]
Rayner claims Reform will ‘fail women’ as she weighs in on online safety row August 16, 2025 Nigel Farage and Reform UK risk “failing a generation of young women” if they scrap online safety laws aimed at preventing revenge porn, Angela Rayner has said. The Deputy Prime Minister demanded Farage explain how his party would keep young women safe when they use the internet, after Reform vowed to repeal the Online Safety [...]
Starmer speaks with Trump after president’s Ukraine ceasefire talks with Putin August 16, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has spoken with Donald Trump after the US president’s summit with Vladimir Putin ended without a deal to stop the war in Ukraine. The Prime Minister joined a call with Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as other European leaders, after the US-Russia ceasefire talks, Downing Street said. Trump did not [...]
‘Alarming’ drop in UK consumer confidence over last year August 16, 2025 Consumer confidence in the future UK economy has plummeted over the last year, figures suggest. Confidence has tumbled by 31 points over the last year, from an average of minus nine between May and July 2024 to an average of minus 40 between May and July this year, Which?’s Consumer Insight Tracker shows. On average [...]
Trump teases second Ukraine summit hours before Putin meeting August 15, 2025 European leaders including Sir Keir Starmer could attend a second meeting with Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky which could bring the war in Ukraine to an end, the US president has said. On the eve of the summit, Mr Trump said leaders from Europe, which could include members of the so-called “coalition of the willing” that [...]
Rent on newly-let homes falls for first time in five years after ‘relentless’ rise August 11, 2025 Average rents on newly-let homes have fallen for the first time in around five years, according to a property firm. Across Britain, the average rent on a newly-let property fell by 0.2 per cent year-on-year in July, marking the first annual decline since August 2020, during the height of the Covid pandemic, Hamptons said. Despite [...]
Housebuilders in focus amid Labour’s planning reforms push August 10, 2025 UK housebuilders will be in sharp focus as the sector grapples with construction woes, despite the Government ploughing ahead with plans to stimulate more building. Persimmon and Balfour Beatty will announce their half-year results on Wednesday, and Bellway will provide a trading update on Tuesday. York-based developer Persimmon said in May that forward sales – [...]
Over 100 civil servants set to be axed in cull of security teams August 10, 2025 More than a hundred jobs could be cut from the organisation in charge of vetting people for security clearance as the Government looks to slim down the Civil Service. The Cabinet Office has proposed reducing the staff at UK Security Vetting (UKSV) to 780 full-time roles, down from its current level of just under 900, [...]
Lammy and Vance host national security advisers ahead of Trump-Putin summit August 9, 2025 The Foreign Secretary will host a meeting of allied national security advisers on Saturday as Donald Trump pushes for a peace deal in Ukraine. Downing Street announced that the meeting at David Lammy’s official country retreat, Chevening, would bring together advisers from the US, Europe and Ukraine to “discuss progress towards securing a just and [...]
