Strikes: Over 1,000 local BBC TV and radio journalists begin 24-hour walkout over proposed cuts to service March 15, 2023 BBC services face disruption as staff begin a 24-hour strike in protest against proposed cuts to the broadcaster’s local radio output. Around 1,000 journalists are expected to walk out on Wednesday, as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivers his Spring Budget, prompting changes to the local TV and radio schedule in England. Around 25 journalists left Broadcasting [...]
Budget: Hunt considering pension changes to encourage over 50s back to work March 14, 2023 The Chancellor is understood to be looking at increasing the pension lifetime allowance (LTA) in a move that is being interpreted as attempting to reverse the trend of early retirements. The PA news agency understands Jeremy Hunt is considering allowing workers to put more money into their pension pot before being taxed as part of [...]
Rules protecting consumers will mean fewer mortgage applications, finance leader warns March 10, 2023 A new consumer duty placed on financial firms could lead to lenders being more cautious and fewer people able to access a mortgage, the chief executive of trade association UK Finance has told an industry gathering. David Postings told UK Finance’s annual mortgage lunch in London that the measure is a “well-meaning idea”. He said: [...]
Food shortage: Tomatoes are back on the menu as supermarkets begin to lift customer limits on fruit and veg March 10, 2023 Supermarkets have started to drop customer limits on buying certain fresh fruit and vegetables as food shortage issues that led to widespread shortages begin to ease. Asda confirmed it had removed limits of three on cucumbers, lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries, leaving restrictions of three on just tomatoes and peppers. The supermarket said [...]
Londoners most at risk of being among the 350,000 UK borrowers who will struggle to repay their mortgage, regulator warns March 10, 2023 An extra 356,000 mortgage borrowers could face payment difficulties by the end of June 2024, in addition to those who are already behind, according to the City regulator. This has been reduced from a previous estimate made last September that an additional 570,000 mortgage borrowers could become financially stretched by the end of June 2024, [...]
UK gender pay gap widens as childcare costs worsen ‘motherhood penalty’ March 7, 2023 The UK’s gender pay gap has widened as sharp increases in the cost of childcare has worsened a “motherhood penalty”, pricing many women out of work altogether, according to a new report. The nation’s average pay gap widened by 2.4 percentage points to 14.4 per cent in 2021, accountancy giant PwC found in its Women [...]
Cost of living crisis: One in seven Brits have skipped meals because they cannot afford to eat March 7, 2023 One in seven people have skipped meals due to the rising cost of living, according to a survey. Almost one in 10 have prioritised meals for other family members above themselves and 4% have used a food bank, the Which? consumer insight tracker found. Some seven in 10 (72 per cent) have turned the heating [...]
Sir Bernard Ingham press secretary to Margaret Thatcher dies age 90 February 24, 2023 Sir Bernard Ingham, the long-standing press secretary to Margaret Thatcher, has died after a short illness, his family said. The former reporter, who was 90, died with his family around him on Friday lunchtime, a statement said. His family described him as a “journalist to his bones” and he continued to file a column for [...]
Ukraine: Zelensky pledges push for victory on war anniversary February 24, 2023 The president of Ukraine pledged to push for victory in 2023 as he and other Ukrainians marked the sombre first anniversary of the Russian invasion that changed their lives. As dawn broke on a day of commemorations and defiance, president Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted that Ukrainians had proven themselves to be “invincible” in what he called [...]
Gender pay gap: Women who have children work two months free every year February 23, 2023 The gender pay gap is almost 15 per cent, and widens “dramatically” after women have children, according to the TUC. The TUC said its study suggested that the average woman in paid employment effectively works for free for nearly two months of the year compared to the average man. The gender pay gap means that [...]