Renters to get more rights under sweeping new legislation after multiple delays May 17, 2023 A new bill that will bolster renters’ rights will be tabled in Parliament today after being delayed multiple times. The Renters’ Reform Bill will abolish “no-fault” evictions, which allow landlords to end tenancies without having to establish fault on the part of the tenant. The bill will also expand the Decent Homes Standard – which [...]
Signs of unemployment jump emerge in UK economy – and it won’t solve worker shortages May 17, 2023 There are some signs that Britain’s red hot jobs market is calming down. That’ll please officials at the Bank of England, who, remember, are trying to make people and businesses (on average) a bit worse off to tame inflation. Wage growth which, in cash terms, has been rising rapidly for around a year, didn’t spring [...]
Anti-protests laws and voter ID are a sure way to disillusion young Britons May 17, 2023 Protesting is a great way for young people to engage with democracy. If you take that right away, while making it harder for them to vote, you end up with youth disengagement, write Alastair Campbell and Maddie Smith
Artificial intelligence won’t destroy your job, just look at Octopus Energy’s use of AI May 17, 2023 Many worry that AI will steal our jobs. But just look at how Octopus Energy uses it, and you'll see that AI, like any other wave of innovation, also brings new jobs and opportunities, writes Paul Ormerod
If lawyers can ditch billable hours, we can get rid of the facade of time sheets at work May 17, 2023 The UK has a better chance of winning Eurovision than improving efficiency as long as we continue to be slaves of proving our worth by clocking our effort on time sheets, writes Simon Neville.
Ofwat £11m enforcement boost branded ‘drop in the ocean’ by sewage campaigners May 16, 2023 An £11m funding boost for water regulator Ofwat to help it take action against polluting water companies has been branded a “drop in the ocean” by a campaign group, who argued more was needed to address the scale of the problem. Ofwat said the funds, which would be provided by a future hike to the [...]
UK must solve labour issues and cut red tape to help ease food inflation, lobby group warns May 16, 2023 The UK government must address labour shortages and make sure regulations don’t weigh food producers down to help ease food price inflation, an industry lobby group has warned. Downing Street hosted a Farm to Fork event at No10 with retailers, traders and producers invited, as Rishi Sunak announced greater protections for farmers in future trade [...]
China soft data signals economic recovery running out of steam May 16, 2023 China’s April industrial output and retail sales growth undershot forecasts, suggesting the economy lost momentum at the beginning of the second quarter and intensifying pressure on policymakers to shore up a wobbly post-Covid-19 recovery. Tuesday’s batch of data, which also showed a further decline in property investment, adds to concerns about the outlook for the [...]
Brompton rides ahead with £19m stake sale as it anticipates China boost May 16, 2023 Brompton, the manufacturer of London’s iconic folded bikes, is set to sell a £19m stake in the firm to the Business Growth Fund (BGF), as it looks to accelerate its expansion. Chief executive Will-Butler Adams told The Times that it would announce the sale soon. The deal values the company at £200m including the new [...]
FTSE 100 close: Vodafone tumbles more than seven per cent after announcing 11,000 job cuts May 16, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 gave up gains today as fresh data yielded tentative signs that the UK workforce is rebalancing and telecoms giant Vodafone tumbled quickly. The capital’s premier index fell 0.34 per cent to 7,751.07 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, was [...]