UK News and Discussions

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

Nicola Sturgeon arrested in SNP finances inquiry

Sun 11 Jun 2023 14.37 BST

Nicola Sturgeon has been arrested by police investigating allegations of financial misconduct by the Scottish National party.

Sturgeon, who quit as first minister and SNP leader in early April, is the third person to be arrested as part of Operation Branchform, the Police Scotland investigation into allegations that more than £600,000 in donations for an independence campaign was misspent by the party.

Her husband, Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of the SNP, was arrested at their home in Uddingston near Glasgow on 5 April, and interviewed under caution for nearly 12 hours before being released without charge.

The police searched their home and back garden, and also searched the SNP’s headquarters under warrant, taking out boxes of documents and computers.

Colin Beattie MSP, then the party’s treasurer, was arrested and questioned as part of the same inquiry on 18 April and also released later without charge, pending further investigation.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... es-inquiry

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

[Time_Traveller]

Vodafone and Three agree UK merger to create biggest mobile player worth £15bn

Wednesday 14 June 2023 12:46

A deal that would create the country's biggest mobile phone operator has been struck by Vodafone and the owner of Three UK, CK Hutchison.

The new combined group, which will comprise only their respective UK operations, will be majority-owned by Vodafone with 51% of the equity.

The merger, if approved by regulators, will create a group with a combined 27 million mobile customers.

It would mean that BT-owned EE would lose its number one position in the market by customer numbers. The merger would also see the combined group overtake O2.

But the Competition and Markets Authority is likely to be concerned that the proposal will lead to weaker competition.

https://news.sky.com/story/vodafone-and ... n-12899033

[lechwall]

The UK is facing a mortgage catastrophe. For perspective for our American friends rather than having a fixed 30 year mortgage, people in the UK will typically take out a fixed mortgage for usually 2 or 5 years with a guaranteed interest rate and then shop around at the end for a new mortgage with a different interest rate. The interest rate will typically be lower on these compared with the US style fixes but you have interest rate risk where you could come off your mortgage to a substantially higher interest rate.

Given this you begin to see the issue. Many people have current mortgage deals from when interest rates where historically low and people were fixing interest rates typically between 1-2%. Well with inflation in the UK and the central bank raising interest rates to try and dampen down inflation mortgage interest rates are now at 6%. This hasn't really impacted the wider economy yet as the rate rises have happened very quickly and very recently while most people have been locked into their lower fixed rate overtime though people are coming going to come off these rates and be hit with much higher mortgage costs.

The situation is worse than is what it was previously in the 80s when interest rates where higher than they are now for 2 reasons.

1. The average house in the UK currently costs around nine-times average earnings, based on data as at 30 November 2022. The last time house prices were this expensive relative to average earnings was in the year 1876, nearly 150 years ago. https://www.schroders.com/en-gb/uk/indi ... in-the-uk/

2. Mortgage interest relief at source which allowed borrowers tax relief for interest payments on their mortgage no longer exists

To put this in simple terms to understand the impact of the crisis on people who own an average priced property going from a 2% interest rate to a 6% interest rate means an increase in repayments of thousands of pounds extra a year while having to deal with soaring prices for other goods such as food. The situation isn't better for renters either as their landlords will either pass on the higher interest rate in the form of increased rent charges or if the tenant can't pay that will look to sell the property which will decrease the supply of rental properties and lead to higher rent payments on the remaining stock as a consequence.

I'll be OK as I live up north where house prices are cheaper and I didn't borrow the maximum I could afford by quite a lot in case rates went up which they have now done. For people living down South where house prices are much higher its a time bomb waiting to go off and if the Tories don't do something significant to help not only will they lose the next election but they will get obliterated as many of the people hurting live in traditional conservative seats in the South.

[wjfox]

^ Great explanation, lechwall.

Indeed, back in the 1980s, you could buy a home for only 4x the average salary. That's now risen to 9+ times. Which makes these current interest rate rises a looming catastrophe for many, on top of massive food and other price rises generally.

That's without even getting into our collapsing public services.

I can't recall a bleaker outlook for the UK in my lifetime than right now.

[lechwall]

^ Great explanation, lechwall.

Indeed, back in the 1980s, you could buy a home for only 4x the average salary. That's now risen to 9+ times. Which makes these current interest rate rises a looming catastrophe for many, on top of massive food and other price rises generally.

That's without even getting into our collapsing public services.

I can't recall a bleaker outlook for the UK in my lifetime than right now.

Thanks, They are now talking about letting people pay interest only payments and then switching back to their original deal within 6 months however this will affect peoples ability to borrow in future meaning people will be loathe to do it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65990833

[weatheriscool]

Labour Takes 25-Point Lead Over Tories


https://politicalwire.com/2023/06/24/la ... er-tories/

"SNIP........

A new Times/YouGov poll finds the UK’s Labour party is extending its lead over the ruling Conservatives, 47% to 22%, with the Liberal Democrats at 11% and the Greens at 8%.

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

Keir Starmer considers ditching Labour pledge to reinstate DfID

Wed 28 Jun 2023 10.47 BST

Keir Starmer is considering dropping a promise to reinstate the Department for International Development (DfID), prompting anger from senior Labour figures and high-profile names in the international development world.

The Labour leader promised last year to restore the department, which was scrapped in 2020 by Boris Johnson, who called it a “giant cashpoint in the sky”.

But Labour sources have told the Guardian Starmer is considering keeping it within the Foreign Office – a move that would cost less but that could lead to aid spending being used as a tool to achieve the UK’s foreign policy goals.

The debate comes amid a series of policy U-turns by Labour, including dropping the idea of a 10% digital services tax and delaying the full rollout of a £28bn green prosperity plan.

Asked last year whether he intended to bring back DfID, Starmer told The Rest is Politics podcast: “Yes, yes, we are. For so many reasons. Not to see the importance of a department that is focused on fixing some of the global problems, that actually unlock a lot of the promise, I just think, is totally misguided … I think the wrongheadedness of not seeing that as a massive asset is huge.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... evelopment

[Time_Traveller]

Thames Water in urgent funding talks amid collapse fears.

33 minutes ago

Thames Water is in talks to secure extra funding as the government says it is ready to act in a worst case scenario if the company collapses.

The water firm, which serves a quarter of the UK population, has billions in debt and is under pressure with its boss resigning unexpectedly on Tuesday.

The government said "a lot of work is going on behind the scenes" and it had a process in place "if necessary".

Regardless of what happens, water supplies will continue as normal.

Even if the firm were to collapse, it would not happen imminently, the BBC understands.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66039170

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

Rishi Sunak to recruit 300,000 new doctors and nurses in biggest shake up in NHS history

Updated: 30 June 2023, 09:13

The government is set to recruit over 300,000 new doctors and nurses in the "largest single expansion in NHS history".

The Prime Minister will unveil the 15-year plan, alongside its £2.4bn investment, at Downing Street on Friday.

The strategy estimates the recruitment of a potential 60,000 extra doctors, 170,000 more nurses and 71,000 health professionals by 2036/37.

It also promises to create a “renewed focus on retention” in the health workforce, while also preparing for future challenges created by a growing and ageing population.

It comes after warnings from health leaders in recent years that there could be 360,000 vacancy gaps in the NHS by 2037 amid growing concerns about staff shortages in the health service.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/nhs-15-year- ... overnment/

In my opinion, if there is a gap of 360,000 vacancies in the NHS by 2037 shouldn't they be recruiting more than 360,000?

[lechwall]

Rishi Sunak to recruit 300,000 new doctors and nurses in biggest shake up in NHS history

Updated: 30 June 2023, 09:13

The government is set to recruit over 300,000 new doctors and nurses in the "largest single expansion in NHS history".

The Prime Minister will unveil the 15-year plan, alongside its £2.4bn investment, at Downing Street on Friday.

The strategy estimates the recruitment of a potential 60,000 extra doctors, 170,000 more nurses and 71,000 health professionals by 2036/37.

It also promises to create a “renewed focus on retention” in the health workforce, while also preparing for future challenges created by a growing and ageing population.

It comes after warnings from health leaders in recent years that there could be 360,000 vacancy gaps in the NHS by 2037 amid growing concerns about staff shortages in the health service.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/nhs-15-year- ... overnment/

In my opinion, if there is a gap of 360,000 vacancies in the NHS by 2037 shouldn't they be recruiting more than 360,000?

Maybe they should have done something like this nearly 15 years ago so that people could actually get a GP appointment now as opposed to in 15 years time...

[lechwall]

Keir Starmer considers ditching Labour pledge to reinstate DfID

Wed 28 Jun 2023 10.47 BST

Keir Starmer is considering dropping a promise to reinstate the Department for International Development (DfID), prompting anger from senior Labour figures and high-profile names in the international development world.

The Labour leader promised last year to restore the department, which was scrapped in 2020 by Boris Johnson, who called it a “giant cashpoint in the sky”.

But Labour sources have told the Guardian Starmer is considering keeping it within the Foreign Office – a move that would cost less but that could lead to aid spending being used as a tool to achieve the UK’s foreign policy goals.

The debate comes amid a series of policy U-turns by Labour, including dropping the idea of a 10% digital services tax and delaying the full rollout of a £28bn green prosperity plan.

Asked last year whether he intended to bring back DfID, Starmer told The Rest is Politics podcast: “Yes, yes, we are. For so many reasons. Not to see the importance of a department that is focused on fixing some of the global problems, that actually unlock a lot of the promise, I just think, is totally misguided … I think the wrongheadedness of not seeing that as a massive asset is huge.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... evelopment

I don't care what any of the "enlightened centrist" talking heads say he is a cr*p politician who has completely lucked out with the situation he's found himself in. Anyone who is not completely offensive to the electorate in charge of labour would win the next election. He'll be a one term Prime Minister mark my words.

[caltrek]

Survey Shows ‘Workplace AI Revolution Isn’t Happening Yet’ in the UK
July 3, 2023

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) The UK risks a growing divide between organisations who have invested in new, artificial intelligence-enabled digital technologies and those who haven’t, new research suggests

• Only 36% of UK employers have so far invested in AI and machine-learning technologies
• Just 10% of those who hadn't invested planned to do so in the next two years
• 75% reported finding it difficult to recruit people with the right digital skills
• However, less than 10% of employers expect to make a lot of investment in digital skills training in the coming years

Extracts:

Only 36% of UK employers have invested in AI-enabled technologies like industrial robots, chat bots, smart assistants and cloud computing over the past five years, according to a nationally representative survey from the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre* (Digit). The survey was carried out between November 2021 and June 2022, with a second wave now underway.
…
The new data also points to a growing skills problem. Less than 10% of employers anticipated a need to make an investment in digital skills training in the coming years, despite 75% finding it difficult to recruit people with the right skills. Almost 60% of employers reported that none of their employees had received formal digital skills training in the past year.
…
…Policymakers will need to address both low employer investment in digital technologies and low investment in digital skills, if the UK economy is to realise the potential benefits of digital transformation.”
…
There was little evidence in this survey to suggest that investing in AI-enabled technology leads to job losses. In fact, digital adopters were more likely to have increased their employment in the five-year period before the survey.

Read more of the Eurekalert article here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/994170

*Read more of the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre survey here: https://digit-research.org/publication ... indings/