Jeremy Hunt has left the UK to rot in poverty. So we must take matters into our own hands | Gordon Brown
With hygiene banks now joining food banks and clothes banks, I’m calling on retailers to take drastic action and help their poorest customers Poverty will last until doomsday if this Conservative government is all that confronts it. The so-called “budget for growth”, more accurately titled the “budget for growth in poverty”, has done nothing for […]
Why does the UK have highest inflation in G7 and is Brexit a factor?
Britain appears to be an international outlier after the shock reading in double digits this week Live coverage: Inflation jumps as cost of living crisis intensifies UK inflation rate in surprise rise to 10.4% Inflation calculator: find out how much price rises affect you Britain has the highest inflation rate in the G7, as the […]
Want to properly plug the UK’s north-south divide? Look to Germany | Larry Elliott
Boosting spending power, increasing public funding for science and tech skills, R&D and infrastructure could work Britain has been struggling to find a solution to its north-south divide since the staple industries of the Industrial Revolution – textiles and coal – started to decline in the early 20th century. It is not a unique problem. […]
UK government made £2.4bn from ‘mortgage prisoner’ loan sales, says Martin Lewis
Tens of thousands of borrowers had their loans sold on to providers at which they were unable to switch The UK government made a £2.4bn “profit” when it pushed tens of thousands of mortgage borrowers “into poverty” after selling their loans on to new lenders, the campaigner Martin Lewis has claimed. The MoneySavingExpert founder was […]
UK mortgage market contracts for fifth month after Liz Truss mini-budget
Approvals at lowest since 2009 – bar during Covid lockdown – as demand for new homes continues to fall Britain’s mortgage market has contracted for a fifth month in a row, official figures show, as the jump in interest rates that followed Liz Truss’s September 2022 mini-budget continued to trigger a collapse in demand for […]
Quarter of UK households regularly run out of money for essentials, survey says
Charities find nearly 40% of people end the month with no money, and 67% say UK government not doing enough about crisis One in four households regularly run out of money for essentials and voters do not believe the government is doing enough to help, a group of charities have said. Nearly 40% of people […]
Bank of England raises UK interest rates to 4%
Hike of 0.5 percentage points lifts rates to 14-year high, but BoE says shorter and shallower recession now more likely Interest rates rise again but Bank of England hints at a brighter future The Bank of England raised interest rates for a tenth consecutive time on Thursday from 3.5% to 4%, but said inflation may […]
UK economy grew by only 0.1% in November
Figure comes as people began Christmas shopping, while World Cup gave pubs and bars a boost UK may avoid recession but it won’t feel like it for many Business live updates: UK may avoid 2022 recession The UK economy unexpectedly grew by 0.1% in November as consumers headed to the shops in the run-up to […]
The Guardian view on a property-owning democracy: Tory dream becomes a nightmare | Editorial
A housing price collapse may see a coalition of renters and mortgage holders emerge that would doom the Conservative electoral base The Conservative party has good reason to think that its vote is only as safe as house prices. Its 2019 victory could be ascribed to two homeowning demographics – outright owners and mortgage holders […]
Mortgage payers face squeeze in 2023 after UK interest rate rises
Wealthy people who own home outright will avoid higher costs and benefit from better return on savings Homeowners with mortgages will be among the biggest losers from the cost of living crisis in 2023 due to interest rate rises, while the wealthiest UK households will benefit from better returns on savings and investments, according to […]