“It seems that the recent increase in wages is a cyclical phenomenon driven by labour shortages as a result of Brexit, people dropping out of the workforce following the pandemic and a rebound in growth,” says the economist Julian Jessop. “We will not get a structural, long-term increase in wages until there is sustained productivity...
Tag: UK news
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Ditch stretchy leggings to help save the planet, says Great British Sewing Bee star
He told the StyleDNA podcast: “There’s almost no non-plastic in sportswear these days. “I think what’s been really interesting, having launched it a couple of weeks ago, is that so many people have said ‘Ooh, I never thought about it as being plastic’. “We’re very aware of plastic in lots of areas of our lives,...
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This may be the last election before the next world war
At a time when the world has not been so dangerous since the height of the Cold War, it is vital that defence, and the imperative of equipping our military and security forces for the challenges that lie ahead, takes centre stage in the forthcoming general election. The world has arguably not found itself in...
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British children among world’s worst for exercise and healthy eating
Children in England and Wales are among the most inactive in the world, according to the World Health Organisation. In a study covering 44 countries, England, Wales and Scotland perform poorly on markers such as brisk walking, while some pupils miss breakfast, as experts warned day-to-day exercise was “largely disappearing from young people’s lives”. While...
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Russia declared ‘direct threat to peace and stability’ by UK and ally
Russia has been branded the “most significant and direct threat” to European security and peace, as tensions between Moscow and the Western world continue to ramp up. The UK renewed its strong condemnation of Vladimir Putin‘s unlawful aggression against Ukraine as it struck a Strategic Partnership with Finland. One paragraph in the joint declaration read:...
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UK owes Caribbean nations £205bn in reparations, says Cambridge academic
Britain owes Caribbean nations more than £200 billion in slavery reparations, a leading academic has claimed. Rev Dr Michael Banner, the Dean of Trinity College Cambridge, said the UK was once “the leading slaving nation in the world”, and that the modern-day descendants of slaves deserved compensation. In a new book, Britain’s Slavery Debt, the...
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Inside Britain’s ‘fattest town’ where most people are overweight
Wigan is Britain’s obesity capital with almost 40 percent of the town’s population considered obese, figures show. More than 70 percent of people in the Greater Manchester town are overweight, with a body mass index (BMI) more than 25. According to the NHS if you have a BMI of between 25 and 30 you are...
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Brexit has let UK respond quickly on Russia and Ukraine, says Polish foreign minister
Brexit has allowed Britain to respond quickly to Russian aggression and claim a leadership role on aid to Ukraine, Poland’s foreign minister has told The Telegraph. Radoslaw Sikorski said that the UK could move faster than EU member states. It did not have to reach consensus in a 27-member bloc on issues such as sanctions...
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Wealth of Rishi Sunak and wife Akshata Murty leaps to £651m – Rich List
The personal fortune of the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty surged by more than £120 million over the past year. The latest annual Sunday Times Rich List revealed their wealth grew substantially despite the wider UK billionaire boom coming “to an end” in the face of tough economic conditions. Mr Sunak...
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British surfer, 16, says it is ‘insane’ to win silver in international event
One of Britain’s youngest surfers has said it feels “insane” to have won a silver medal at an international competition in El Salvador. Lukas Skinner took part in the International Surfing Association (ISA) World Junior Surfing Championships from May 3 to 12 in Surf City as part of an under-16s dryrobe boys England Juniors team....
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Chinese and Hong Kong students at British universities silenced by Beijing
Hong Kong and Chinese students at British universities are being secretly photographed and filmed as part of a global pattern of harassment and intimidation by Beijing, according to Amnesty International. In a new 63-page report released by the human rights group on Monday, students describe being followed at protests in their host cities, with many...
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Northern Lights UK: Britons gaze up in wonder as aurora borealis illuminates the world
Britons stayed up all night to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights as a massive solar storm brought a beautiful aurora to the skies above the UK. In rare and spectacular sightings on Friday night, the aurora was spotted across the country, from Whitley Bay in the North East to as far south as...