Published: 28 April 2023
By Suzanne Evans, Director, Political Insight
The Government succeeded yesterday in limiting the length of an upcoming strike by nurses, after winning a court fight against The Royal College of Nursing (RCN). The RCN had called a 48-hour strike from the evening of 30th April, which for the first time would involve staff from emergency departments, intensive care units, cancer care, among other, previously exempt services. Lawyers representing Health Minister Steve Barclay told London's High Court that, as the RCN ballot closed on 2nd November last year, a strike on 2nd May would be "clearly unlawful action," as a vote to strike is only valid for six months after a ballot of trade union members. Barclay welcomed the ruling, saying the government had taken the RCN to court "with regret". "I firmly support the right to take industrial action within the law, but the government could not stand by and let plainly unlawful strike action go ahead," he said in a statement. Nurses have rejected a 5% pay rise, despite the RCN recommending its members accept it, instead seeking an increase nearer to inflation which is running at more than 10%. RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen described the legal action as "the darkest day of this dispute so far", accusing the government of "taking its own nurses through the courts in bitterness at their simple expectation of a better pay deal". However, the RCN did not send lawyers to the Court hearing yesterday.
The Government’s long-awaited white paper on reform of the gambling industry was published yesterday. It included a mandatory levy on all gambling revenues, stricter affordability checks to stop punters racking up losses, a £2-15 bet cap on online slot machines, and a curb on "free" spins. The secretary of state for culture, media and sport Lucy Frazer also announced the statutory levy would be used to fund research and education on gambling-related harm, and that more resources would be given to regulator the Gambling Commission. The government’s review - first announced in 2020 - is the first since Labour’s 2005 Gambling Act, which came into force before the proliferation of online casinos on smartphones. Frazer said the industry is now “positively unrecognisable” from when that legislation was introduced. “We need a new approach that recognises a flutter is one thing, unchecked addiction is another,” she said. Companies will also be forced to “step up their checks” on losses, while an ombudsman will be appointed to address the “power imbalance” between gambling operators and punters, Frazer added.
In response to the announcements by Lucy Frazer, The Betting and Gaming Council, which represents 90% of licensed betting and gaming firms, welcomed the plans, as they focussed on tackling extreme gambling, rather than on blanket rules cracking down on punters who enjoy the occasional bet, as was feared. CEO Michael Dugher said in a statement: “We welcome the decision to reject proposals from anti-gambling prohibitionists for blanket, low level and intrusive affordability checks, as well as their calls for bans on advertising, sports sponsorship and consumer promotions, which would harm our best-loved sports like horseracing and football, threaten jobs and drive customers to the growing unsafe, unregulated gambling black market online. These proposed measures will mean significant change but hopefully much needed regulatory stability to ensure our members can focus entirely on delivering for customers”. However, Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment said an anticipated but as yet unconfirmed 1% statutory levy would cost it up to £100m a year from 2024. The firm pointed out that since 2021, it has already enforced a maximum slot limit of £10 per spin and committed to contributing 1% of annual revenue to RET (Research, Education and Treatment). Flutter has already made voluntary charitable contributions of more than £18m this year as part of its 1% (£20m) annual commitment, it said, adding that these pre-emptive changes have already removed £150m in annual revenue from the business.
Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero told the House of Lords’ Environment and Climate Change Committee yesterday that Britain “wants and needs” the oil and gas sector, and that it still has “a very important part to play”. He also defended expanding the Energy Profits Levy (windfall tax) on the sector from 25% to 35% per cent (on top of the 40% special corporation tax rate), saying it was necessary to ensure households and businesses had sufficient support to deal with record energy bills. Several operators have sounded the alarm on the tax, saying it will deter investment in the North Sea. Harbour energy has cut around 350 jobs – some 30% of its staff - and Total and Enquest have pulled out of domestic energy projects. All three have directly blamed the Government’s windfall taxes for the moves.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan claimed in a speech last night that post-Brexit visa restrictions are damaging London’s tourism industry. City Hall research suggests that prior to leaving the EU, more than 1.5m children visited the UK each year, with groups able to travel on their European Economic Area (EEA) identity cards, he said. However, now that all children entering the UK must have passports, and non-EU citizens need a £95 visa, school groups are choosing other English-speaking destinations such as Ireland or Malta, he claimed, adding that language schools have reported “seismic drops in trade”. Khan called on the Government to ease travel rules around European school children, language students and hospitality, construction and retail workers, and open a new youth travel scheme to open up London to young people from around the world.
London rents have surged 14% to their highest level on record according to property Website Rightmove. The average cost per month of renting a property in London is now £2,501, Rightmove says, around £1,300 more than the national average monthly rent bill of £1,190 elsewhere in the country. Although “competition between tenants has eased by 2% compared to last year… it is still more than double (+173 per cent) the level it was back in 2019,” Rightmove noted. Supply of rental properties has nearly halved since the year before Covid lockdowns, down 46% across the country, while tenant demand is up 48% over the same period, meaning prospective renters are either outbidding each other to secure properties, or landlords are able to raise rents and still find tenants.
Just when we all thought the railway strikes were coming to an end…they are being ramped up again. Thousands of RMT members will walk out on 13th May, because the union has rejected the latest pay offer by train companies, having received clarification that a first-year payment of 5% would only be effective if no further strikes were held. The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents Britain's train operators, said it was "blindsided" by the RMT's announcement as nothing has changed in the offer agreed by the union. "The RMT are negotiating in bad faith, denying their members a say on a fair pay deal, needlessly disrupting the lives of millions of our passengers, and undermining the viability of an industry critical to Britain's economy," Steve Montgomery, RDG's chair said in a statement. However, RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch accused the RDG of reneging on their original proposals, saying it had “torpedoed these negotiations" and so there was “no alternative but to press ahead with more strike action and continue our campaign for a negotiated settlement on pay, conditions and job security."
British businesses are the most optimistic they have been in nearly a year, according to a Lloyds Bank survey. Lloyds’ Business Barometer gauge of confidence - which measures the difference between respondents who felt more confident or less confident about their trading and economic prospects - rose to 33% from 32% in March, further above its long-running average of 28%.
The new boss of the scandal-hit Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said the business lobby group is likely be renamed as it seeks to rebuild itself in the wake of a plethora of sexual misconduct claims. “Personally, over time, I’m sure we’re going to see a new name for the CBI, but that’s just the wrapper that goes on the outside. What matters is what we do, what we deliver and our purpose,” Rain Newton-Smith told the Financial Times.
Music and entertainment giant HMV is to reopen its flagship London store on Oxford Street after four years, having been able to sign a new lease because of what it describes as a “dramatic turnaround” of the business under owner Doug Putman, who took over in 2019 after the company fell into administration.
Plans by Canadian miner Teck to separate off its copper and coal businesses were halted yesterday, just an hour ahead of the scheduled shareholder vote on the move. Various reports suggest some investors were not happy with Teck’s refusal to discuss alternatives with FTSE 100 mining giant Glencore, which has so far made two takeover bids for the company, and that Teck knew it would not get the 2/3 of votes required to push the separation forward. Glencore confirmed its proposal still stands. Norway's sovereign wealth fund - – which has a 1.5% stake in Teck – had backed Teck's plan.
BP meanwhile, has convinced shareholders to back its climate agenda and boardroom pay policies, as well as re-elect chairman Helge Lund, despite five British pension funds calling for his dismissal. In the end, he maintained the support of 90.43% of shareholders. The AGM was interrupted several times by climate protestors, including demonstrations from Fossil Free London who were protesting against BP’s decision to ease its pledges to cut emissions, targeting a 20-30% cut by the end of this decade compared to a previous plan for a 35-40% reduction, as well as produce more oil and gas over the next seven years compared with previous targets. Several protestors were carried out by security.
Deutsche Bank has agreed to buy FTSE 100 investment banker Numis in a 350p per share £410m cash deal, which is expected to complete in the fourth quarter.
Sky News claims Partners Group, a Swiss-based private equity investor, is among the suitors circling fast-growing accountancy firm Azets, one of the UK's top 10 accountants by revenue. Sky understands Partners Group is in talks to buy a controlling stake in Azets. John Connolly, the former CEO of Deloitte UK, founded Cogital Group, which later became Azets, in 2016, but stepped down following an earlier sale process in 2019.
Vodafone has appointed its interim CEO Margherita Della Valle to the position permanently. She will also continue as group CFO until an external search to fill that role is complete. Della Valle took over as interim CEO in January, following the departure of Nick Read.
And finally…or at least one hopes this is the end chapter in this story - today is the deadline for third round of bids for Manchester United FC.
Why Media is an award-winning design, marketing, digital communications and PR agency offering tailored solutions to companies on a global scale. We have extensive experience in delivering design and marketing services to a spectrum of companies including professional services, property companies, financial institutions and shopping centres. We have offices in London UK, Hertford UK, Finestrat ES & Brescia IT.
Marketing Contact
Name: Claire White
E-Mail: claire@whymedia.com
Telephone: 01992 586 507
