Economics
Conservatives are “asleep at the wheel” after UK economy slows
GMB has criticised the Conservative Government for being ‘asleep at the wheel’ as worrying new figures show UK economy slowing down. The latest GDP figures released today show growth in the first quarter was down to 0.3 per cent - from 0.7 per cent in the last quarter of 2016. The service, retail and manufacturing suffered saw a particular sharp slow down. Meanwhile energy costs are driving up inflation - in March the energy component of CPIH was up 8.7...
Can we survive the dangers of the public sector language gap?
Public services provide for the welfare and wellbeing of the UK’s residents. Police and court services, medical care and the NHS, housing provision and local government administration are all vital resources, but some UK residents are being excluded from this support because of the language they speak. While there is a national requirement for public sector workers in the UK to possess English (or Welsh) language fluency, there is no explicit stipend to cater to foreign language speakers. Provision is...
How Could Theresa May’s Snap Election Announcement Affect the UK Economy?
State of the Nation Theresa May sparked a sense of surprise across the country last week as she called a snap general election to be held on 8 June. Many have since drawn comparisons between the British zeitgeist with a Bristolian lady's reaction to the news which quickly went viral online. The announcement followed several statements by the prime minster that she would not be seeking a general election. However, in terms of shock factor, the news of a...
Will Malta be the biggest beneficiary of Brexit?
Malta will benefit more than any other financial centre in Europe from Brexit, according to an international asset management group. As Paris and Frankfurt battle over “Brefugees” more companies could actually choose to move to Malta's shores because it offers significantly fewer drawbacks than its European Union counterparts. Jeremy Leach, Chief Executive Officer at MPG, said: “Malta will be the biggest beneficiary following Brexit. After London, it should be the first choice for a financial firm to establish a branch or secondary office...
More Brexit blues: Inflation at highest level since Sept 2013
The day after Theresa May announced that she would trigger Article 50, on 29th March, inflation has leapt up. Due to increasing fuel and food costs inflation is now at the highest rate since Sept 2013. Economists had expected CPI inflation of 2.1% for February, so the extra increase is cause for concern across the nation. There are fears that inflation will continue to rise as the UK prepares to cut itself off from the other EU member states. The...
Union slams “zero certainty” of nearly a million workers on zero hours contracts
The Office for National Statistics reveals 440% increase in number of people on zero-hours contracts since 2010. People across the UK are living in totally unstable situations, where they don't know if they will be able to pay the rent at the end of the month. No guarantee of paid work is living people on a knife edge. GMB union today commented on new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing the number of people on zero hours...
Eye-watering size of “dead money economy” revealed
The dead money economy is worth an eye-watering £721 billion, new research has found, with a staggering amount of cash laying dormant and unused in pensions, bank accounts and ISAs. With levels of consumer spending expected to be slashed in the coming months as the reality of the falling pound hits home, the UK could be caught between a rock and a hard place with many well-off people sitting on cash they have no intention of using. Close to a...
UK construction industry could lose 8% of workforce post-Brexit, new RICS figures reveal
The UK construction industry could lose almost 200,000 EU workers post-Brexit should Britain lose access to the single market, putting some of the country’s biggest infrastructure and construction projects under threat, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has revealed. RICS has cautioned that for Brexit to succeed, it is essential to secure continued access to the EU Single Market or to put alternative plans in place to safeguard the future of the property and construction sectors in the UK....
Watch – We will face a “third parliament of austerity” after 2020, says IFS
This is just what you didn’t want to hear, especially if you have been slapped with a National Insurance tax rise, as a self-employed worker. The IFS has made a post-budget statement and it makes grim reading for the nation. The impact of Brexit is unknown, but the future already looks gloomy. Well over a decade of austerity will be too much for a lot the UK’s population to take. In 2020 it will be 15 years without an effective...