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Shocking new analysis by the Resolution Foundation has revealed pay in real terms won’t be back to 2007 level until 2025. According to the research average annual pay peaked in the autumn of 2007 at £31,644 (in 2016 prices). Once inflation is taken into account, average pay will not be back at those levels until the start of 2025 - some 17 years since the financial crash struck. The Resolution Foundation's report, Freshly Squeezed, warns that Britain is on course for the...

As music industry lawyers say "where there's a hit there's a writ" and this one even by music standards is bizarre. Legendary hip hop brand the Wu-Tang Clan's RZA is unamused by a doggie day care centre in New York that has been trading under the name The Woof-Tang Clan. RZA Shankbone (real name Robert Fitzgerald Diggs) is suing the dogs walking and sitting service based in Brooklyn and offering services to "the illest group of dogs in New York...

The global trade in wild birds has plunged by about 90 percent since the EU banned imports 12 years ago after a parrot died in Britain - from bird flu. The illegal trade has been implicated as one of the main culprits in the spread of the killer disease and has brought several species to the brink of extinction. The number traded annually has now fallen from about 1.3 million to 130,000, according to new research. They are trapped and...

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has described today's Budget as "a ‘nothing has changed’ Budget from an out-of-touch Government". The scathing critique follows Jeremy Corbyn's response in parliament that Philip Hammond's speech was acknowledgement of a "record failure" on behalf of the Conservative government, with economic growth revised down, productivity growth revised down, business investment revised down and people’s incomes revised down. McDonnell says Hammond has "completely failed" to recognise the scale of the emergency in our public services, adding that the Budget has...

Philip Hammond put aside more money for Brexit than the NHS in the 2017 Budget in a reversal of the promises outlined during the referendum campaign. The Chancellor said £3 billion would be spent on Brexit planning, while just £2.8 billion will go to the NHS. In a deeply ironic twist the NHS now has just £350 million to see it through the winter, rather than the £350 million a week it was promised by the Leave campaign. Earlier this month NHS...

The 2017 Budget proves Philip Hammond can't really balance the books, according to industry experts. The Chancellor was forced to revise down much of his growth forecasts for the country in what has been described as a budget that "concentrates more on the political shape of the Conservative party rather than the economic shape of the UK economy." Jeremy Corbyn slammed the Conservatives on the Budget announcement saying "it's a record of failure" with economic growth revised down, productivity growth...

The chancellor has announced stamp duty will be scrapped for first time buyers on homes up to £300,000 and up to £500,000 in high price areas. The move will affect roughly 80 per cent of first time buyers, and will come as a huge relief for people who are struggling to get on to the property ladder. Philip Hammond was under pressure to deliver a game-changing Budget today, and after a string of concerning economic data he saved the eye-catching announcement...

Few politicians would proclaim to have magical powers, but today Philip Hammond seemed to develop the ability to make currencies drop on every word he says. Delivering a crucial Budget to parliament the pound plummeted as he rifled through a raft of shaky economic indicators. He acknowledged that the economic outlook for the country is deteriorating, setting growth forecasts under 2 per cent for the next five years. He then announced that he will put aside an extra £3 billion...

Watch PMQs carefully and see if you can spot what has been dubbed Theresa May’s “kill team” or “K-team.” The Sunday Telegraph recently exposed a "precision bombing exercise" choreographed by new Chief Whip Julian Smith to "shout Corbyn down and put him off his stride". Due to worries about Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party’s going confidence at Prime Minister’s Questions as they land more punches on the Prime Minister, and concerns about Theresa May’s ability to defend the government’s...