The Labour Party has yet to find a compelling answer to the winter of strikes December 19, 2022 What we’re witnessing now reads like something from the political history section of an A-level history book. Welcome the widespread strikes, including in the public sector, a government struggling to manage a difficult economy, a charismatic union boss and a prime minister conscious of approaching elections but still hoping for an upswing in his fortunes. [...]
UK on course for slow burning recession, KPMG predicts December 19, 2022 The UK economy is on track to enter a long recession sparked by households and businesses being squeezed by sky high price rises, new forecasts out today unveil. Gross domestic product (GDP) will shrink 1.3 per cent next year, according to consultancy KPMG, who have become the latest organisation to warn of a protracted slump [...]
Treasury grabs extra £85bn in taxes from Brits after Covid measures end December 19, 2022 The UK government has added an extra £85.1bn in tax revenues over the last year after a raft of Covid-19 support measures were scrapped, new figures out today show. Total revenue flowing into the treasury from Brits’ pockets hit £775.6bn in the year to April 2022, up from £690.5bn in the previous year, according to [...]
AA issues amber warning as 17 million cars to join Christmas exodus December 19, 2022 The AA has issued an amber warning for 23 and 24 December as 17 million drivers are expected to join the Christmas exodus. Routes linked to the M25 will carry most of the traffic – in particular interchanges connecting the M25 with the M3, M4, M1, M11, M20 and A1(M). Congestion – which will also [...]
Ikea: Sales up 13 per cent despite costs of living and inflation December 19, 2022 Ikea has revealed that sales jumped over the past year due to customers returning to its shops and price increases in the face of cost inflation. The Swedish furniture retailer revealed that total sales grew by 13 per cent to £2.2bn over the year to 31 August, compared with the same period last year. Peter [...]
Christmas strikes: Government sends in 1,200 troops to replace workers December 18, 2022 Around 1,200 members of the military and 1,000 civil servants are being sent in by the government to cover striking ambulance drivers and Border Force staff. The staff will be deployed to minimise disruption throughout the rest of the month as more key sector workers go on strike. Up to 10,000 ambulance staff will go [...]
Christmas getaway: Five million Brits to travel during festive period December 18, 2022 Around five million Britons are expected to travel during this festive period, according to recent data. Figures published by trade body ABTA have shown that 640,000 people will leave from Stansted while 470,000 from Luton over the Christmas period. Gatwick will welcome hundreds of thousands of travellers, while Heathrow will see at least three million [...]
UK appoints five new innovation experts to drive post-Brexit technology boom December 18, 2022 The UK government has appointed five, industry leading experts to make use of post-Brexit freedoms by driving innovation in cutting edge sectors that will be vital to Britain’s future growth. The five new experts will work with the government’s chief scientific advisor, Sir Patrick Vallance, to review existing rules and develop a pro-innovation, regulatory approach. [...]
Disruption on rail continues due to staff shortages and bad weather December 18, 2022 Chaos across the UK’s railways network continued today as the impact of this week’s strikes and bad weather have caused further delays and cancellations to thousands of commuters. Network Rail warned passengers that services would start later today due to the strikes’ impact, with LNER cancelling several trains following staff shortages. Trains between London and [...]
Investors set to be cheered by Bunzl’s climbing profits December 18, 2022 Specialist distribution group Bunzl is set to have waded through cost inflation and supply chain challenges and emerged with strong sales at the end of the year. The FTSE 100 company, which sells global businesses a wide range of products from coffee cups to cafes, food wrap to supermarkets, and cleaning materials to hospitals, will [...]
