Business

The triple lock increases some benefits payments by inflation, earnings or 2.5%, whichever is highest. Max_Z / Shutterstock Plans to increase state pension payments in line with inflation have been reinstated by the UK government and are supported by both of the contenders for the Conservative party leadership. But evenContinue Reading

Improvements to the GB power market could help tackle the coming energy crisis. Bohbeh / Shutterstock British households are bracing for a winter of massive energy price increases. The average annual bill is forecast to rise above £4,000, which is more than three times what Britons were paying just 12Continue Reading

The ongoing Conservative Party leadership hustings haven’t seen much agreement between candidates, but they have resulted in the creation of a new political narrative: “Gordon Brown economics”. Foreign secretary Liz Truss explained away her rejection of cost of living “handouts” for households with the phrase. But even as she indicatedContinue Reading

Shutterstock/seisler There’s a good chance that you would like to see COVID disappear for good. And you may also wish for an end to the war in Ukraine – or any other war for that matter. But would you feel the same way if you were the head of aContinue Reading

Household bills have spiked in 2022. Cast of Thousands / Shutterstock UK households have faced unprecedented blows to their living standards in 2022. Home energy costs have more than doubled and are threatening to triple, the price of petrol has risen by more than half since the start of lastContinue Reading

Supermarket sweep. Shutterstock/Song_about_summer The cost-of-living crisis continues. The UK rate of inflation is up yet again, and expected to rise further. And as energy, transport, fuel and groceries all get more expensive, there are fears that over 4 million British households are experiencing financial difficulties. A recent survey suggests, perhapsContinue Reading

Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan has elicited a strong response from China: three days of simulated attack on Taiwan with further drills announced, plus a withdrawal from critical ongoing conversations with the US on climate change and the military. This strong reaction was predictable. President Xi had earlier warnedContinue Reading

Same role, different wage. AllGo, CC BY-SA Ethnic minorities make up an ever larger share of the UK workforce. Where just over 6% of all workers were from minority backgrounds 20 years ago, now it’s nearly 14%. Yet employees from non-white ethnic groups still tend to earn less than similarlyContinue Reading