Cocktail of problems plunge UK consumer confidence to record low June 24, 2022 A relentless cost of living crunch, the prospect of a recession and stagnant wage growth has driven British pessimism to new highs, reveals a closely watched survey published today. UK consumer confidence dropped to minus 41 points this month, down marginally from minus 40 in May, the lowest reading recorded by research firm GfK since [...]
Second day of rail strikes send Trainline tumbling as FTSE 100 dips June 23, 2022 A second day of railway worker strikes sent shares in ticket booking platform Trainline tumbling as London’s top indexes dipped today. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index dropped 0.97 per cent to 7,020.45 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, fell 1.05 per [...]
Rail strikes spill into tube network, affecting journeys on Overground, Bakerloo and Elizabeth lines June 23, 2022 The chaos and disruption brought by the ongoing rail strike has once again spilled into London’s tube network, affecting journeys on the Overground as well as the Bakerloo and Elizabeth lines. Overground services are running on a reduced schedule as trains between Romford and Upminster, Sydenham and Crystal Palace as well as between Surrey Quays [...]
Govt will try to change ‘burdensome’ law so agency staff can cover for striking workers June 23, 2022 The government will try to change the law to allow agency staff to cover for striking workers. Grant Shapps and Kwasi Kwarteng, the transport and business secretaries, made the announcement on Thursday as the UK is crippled by a second day of industrial action. Under current trade union laws, firms cannot supply temporary workers to [...]
Rail strikes to halt commutes again as RMT union boss warns of more to come June 23, 2022 Rail strikes are set to hit London and the rest of the country again today, as union members picket outside an unusually quiet Euston Station. While Tube services are running, delays are expected to hang over from yesterday’s bout of industrial action. RMT union general secretary Mick Lynch, who joined picketers for the second of [...]
A summer of discontent is the unions’ fight for power in the modern workforce June 23, 2022 This week, London was awash with bikes and e-scooters as the biggest rail strikes in thirty years kicked off on Tuesday. Other unions were watching closely as they plan for their own industrial action. Some are calling it the summer of discontent, as a waterfall of job losses and long hours stir up a storm [...]
UK inflation highest in G7, dialling up pressure on Bank of England to raise rates again June 22, 2022 The likelihood of the Bank of England hiking interest rates for the sixth time in a row is ramping up after new figures revealed the UK has the highest inflation in the G7. Prices climbed 9.1 per cent annually in May, up from April’s already four decade high rate of nine per cent, according to [...]
Google searches for ‘remote jobs’ explode by more than 260 per cent as UK crippled by train strikes June 22, 2022 There has been an explosion in searches for ‘remote jobs’ in wake of recent train strikes by more than 260 per cent. New analysis of Google search engine figures show the term has been searched at the highest level in UK internet history. This is despite politicians such as Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg and host of [...]
Raab: Pensioners need double-digit increase in payments, but striking rail workers don’t June 22, 2022 Dominic Raab has defended the government’s decision to hand out an inflation-linked increase in state pensions next year, while it rallies against similar wage rises for striking rail workers. The justice secretary said old age pensioners were in a “different position” to rail workers, because they were “disproportionately affected by the increase in energy costs [...]
Rail misery deepens for millions of Brits as Britain locks down for second day June 22, 2022 Millions of Brits will again be hit by severe transport disruption across the country today by rail strikes as talks resume in a bid to resolve a bitter dispute over jobs, pay and conditions. Fewer than one in five trains ran yesterday after members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) on Network Rail [...]