Published: 15 August 2023
By Suzanne Evans, Director, Political Insight
The latest employment and wage data has been published by The Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning, and it reveals that regular pay grew by 7.8% between April and June. the highest annual growth rate since comparable records began in 2001. Meanwhile, there are signs the UK employment market is easing in the ONS's data. The unemployment rate rose from 4% to 4.2%, and the number of people in employment ticked slightly lower to 75.7%. Economic inactivity was 20.9%. The number of job vacancies available between May and July 2023 also fell to 1.020m, 66,000 fewer that in the previous 3 months, and down by over quarter of a million (256,000) from a year ago. However, vacancies are still 219,000 above their pre-pandemic levels. The latest ONS inflation data is due out tomorrow. Inflation currently stands at 7.9%.
British taxpayers spent a record amount this year funding government spending, according to think tank the Adam Smith Institute (ASI). Today, 15th August, marks what the ASI calls the Cost of Government Day, the point from which the average taxpayers get to keep their income solely for themselves until the end of the year, and it is the latest ever date on record, being 227 says into the year. Last year’s cost of government day came a month earlier on 10th July 2022. ASI research director Maxwell Marlow said: “This is an unsustainable situation, especially as poor private sector investment continues to cripple the long-run health of the economy.” Over £901.8bn was paid to the Treasury from employees’ wage packets this year, which amounted to 46.25% of net national income, the ASI figures claimed. “We need urgent fiscal reform,” Marlow said. “Taxes must be cut, regulations must be slashed, and we must free-up our sclerotic planning system to allow for growth and extensive housebuilding to give young people a fairer chance.”
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says it is seeking input from MPs and other Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) about problems they may have had opening or maintaining a bank account ahead of a formal investigation into so-called ‘debanking’. It will launch a formal review in September, and publish the full terms of reference for its investigation then, an investigation which follows the closure of former UKIP and Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage’s account at Coutts, part of NatWest. "We are keen to hear directly from UK PEPs on their experiences, including any problems they have encountered – so we’re proactively reaching out to parliamentarians and other UK PEPs at an early stage," the FCA said in a statement. The watchdog will initially contact lawmakers from both Houses of Parliament, chairs of parties polling more than 5%, senior civil servants and senior ranks of the armed forces. Meanwhile, a separate urgent data gathering exercise into the scale of debanking is being undertaken, with the outcome of that also due in September.
More evidence that the so-called ‘tourist tax’ is harming London retailers has emerged today, with figures showing that visitors from the US and the Gulf have cut spending in the capital by 1% and 17% respectively. The data, published by the New West End Company showed the drop off in spending in the three months to June came despite flights from this region to London rising more than they did pre-Covid. Flight bookings from American and the Gulf rose by 17% and by 7% against the second quarter of 2019, the study showed. The ‘tourist tax’ dates from 2021, when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak removed VAT free shopping for international tourists when he was Chancellor.
A growing number of landlords are selling up despite average rents being 28% higher than in 2020, a report in todays’ Guardian claims. The newspapers quotes estate agent Savills as saying it estimates that 25,000 homes in UK were sold by landlords between April and May, compared with 22,000 in the previous two months. Savills blames the pinch of rising costs and interest rates, which have made new buy-to-let mortgages more expensive to repay, and the end of mortgage interest relief since 2020, “which has reduced profitability to its lowest level since 2007,” Savills’ research analyst Toby Parsloe says. Parsloe adds: “With more landlords expected to come off fixed rates in the coming months, there is a very real risk that more will be looking to exit the sector.” The newspaper also quotes separate figures from estate agent Hamptons International, which reveal that investors who sold a buy-to-let home in 2023 after 11 years of ownership made on average £94,800 more than they originally paid for the property. However, this amount was 10.1% down on the record average of £105,300 the year before. 6% of landlords have sold at a loss so far in 2023, Hamptons says. Meanwhile, official figures from HM Revenue and Customs – based on capital gains tax data – suggested that landlords sold 153,000 properties in 2021-22, 8.5% more than originally estimated.
Nish Kankiwala, the new CEO of John Lewis has warned the Bank of England (BoE) against raising interest rates any higher, saying it could mean a “tip into recession” for the country. Kankiwala, who was appointed as the Partnership’s first CEO in March, told the Mail on Sunday: “The BoE wants to make people feel a bit gloomier, so they spend less, and it is working”. “If you look at previous booms and busts sometimes it goes too far, and we tip into recession. The trick is to avoid that. But that is for the bank. I just run shops,” he added.
Potential bidders for Wilko have been given two days to submit offers, Sky News reported yesterday. The family-owned retailer called in administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers last Thursday after it failed to secure a rescue deal. The bid deadline is said to have been moved forward because Wilko risks running out of cash. The company has 400 stores and employed about 16,000 people. Last year it was rescued by the supermarket Morrisons.
A man has died in an accident at the new Everton stadium site at Bramley-Moore Dock in Liverpool. The Liverpool Echo said a 26-year-old man sustained head injuries in an incident involving "heavy machinery." "We are shocked and saddened by today's tragic incident and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the deceased man and our wider project team," Everton said in a statement. The Premier League club confirmed an investigation had been launched with the relevant authorities by the contractor to establish the full details of the incident.
Strikes due to start at Birmingham Airport today have been called off after plane refuelers employed by Menzies Aviation received an improved pay offer, which included a 9% pay hike, an one-off payment of £750, making temporary staff permanent, and upgrading communications technology.
Former Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer has joined Brill Power as chairman to help the British battery sensor maker build its business with major automakers and the energy storage industry, the company said this morning. Brill Power is a spin-out from Oxford University and has developed sensors that can monitor and manage individual cells in electric vehicle (EV) battery packs. This overcomes a core problem for EVs, where performance is determined by the weakest cell in any battery pack. Brill Power’s product can extend a battery pack's range and life by 60%, Palmer said.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has nominated Tom Josephs to replace Andy King on the Budget Responsibility Committee (BRC) at the Government's budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). King is stepping down on 31st August. Josephs is currently Director of Private Pensions at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and has worked previously at the Treasury and the OBR. His nomination must be approved by parliament's Treasury Committee at a hearing in September.
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars was handed a bumper £1.77m pay packet, up 72% on last year, having guided Rolls-Royce to the highest year of sales in the marque’s 118-year history in 2022 and has overseen a string of major announcements, including the launch of Spectre, the world’s first ultra-luxury fully electric coupé. Last year, his pay packet was £1.04m.
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
