Published: 14 February 2024
By Suzanne Evans, Director, Political Insight
Inflation held steady in January, with the consumer prices index (CPI) unchanged at 4%, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data released this morning. The rate undershot economists’ expectations by 0.2%, largely because of the first monthly fall in food prices in over two years, a 0.4% drop, which levelled out higher energy costs. Services inflation increased slightly to 6.5% from 6.4% in December, but was also below the Bank of England’s forecast. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy costs, was also unchanged at 5.1%. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “Inflation never falls in a perfect straight line, but the plan is working; we have made huge progress in bringing inflation down from 11%, and the Bank of England forecast that it will fall to around 2% in a matter of months.”
Housing Secretary Michael Gove has announced plans to make it tougher for Councils to reject brownfield construction if they are not meeting housing targets, which some 80% are not. He also outlined new freedoms to convert business premises into homes without the need for full planning permission, policy changes which could, he claimed, increase capacity to deliver new homes by almost 11%, or around 4,000 homes per year. Gove also pledged to ensure that so-called “no-fault” evictions will be banned by the time of the general election later this year. The Home Builders Federation said it welcomed “moves to bring brownfield land through for development more quickly,” but that this renewed focus would not make up for previous policies that caused significant damage to construction volumes. “Whilst welcoming this consultation, the announcement will do little to tackle our housing crisis,” the industry group said.
The Government has also unveiled £50m of new investment over the next two years to help build new homes and improve the quality of life for existing residents through estate regeneration in London. The proposals include £4m to “explore maximum ambition housing delivery around Euston,” and £125m to unlock “three major brownfield sites in East and South London”. These initiatives support the Government’s long-term plan for housing and its commitment to a “Brownfield-first approach,” a Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) press release said.
New figures released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show that daily incidents of violence and abuse of retail workers soared by 50% in the year to August 31st 2023. Shop staff faced an average of 1,300 such incidents each day, up from about 870 in 2022, equating to 54 assaults or thefts every hour, almost one episode of aggression every minute. “Assault and abuse directed at staff is now as common as it was in the peak of the pandemic, when frustration and anger at restrictions caused a steep jump in incidents,” the Telegraph says. The cost of theft also doubled to £1.8bn in 2023, almost treble the £502m lost in 2017. There were around 45,000 incidents of shoplifting across Britain each day in 2023, on average, the BRC said. The Co-op alone recorded more than 335,000 incidents of retail crime in its stores in 2023, equating to almost 1,000 incidents each day. Co-op Director Paul Gerrard said: “There’s a level of lawlessness that I don’t think anyone in the UK retail sector has ever seen before.” The industry is calling for ssaulting a retail worker to be made a standalone offence, with tougher sentancing powers for the crime.
The BRC is also claiming Britain may experience a shortage of the nation’s most popular drink, tea, because of a risk to supply from shipping disruptions in the Red Sea. Supermarkets are said to be seeing "temporary disruption" to some black tea lines, and some delays to flavoured lines, and Sainsbury’s has issued a warning to customers. A Tetley spokeswoman told the BBC: "At the moment it's much tighter than we would like it to be but we're pretty confident we can maintain supply levels.
France is demanding British taxpayers stump up extra cash to fund the nuclear power plants French energy giant EDF is building in the UK. Bruno Le Maire, France’s finance minister, said yesterday he has already raised the subject with Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho and that he would be asking Chancellor Jeremy Hunt for “an equitable sharing of costs” for the power stations, including Hinkley Point C, in Somerset, and Sizewell C, in Suffolk. Costs at Hinkley Point C have surged to £46bn, significantly more than the £18bn proposed when contracts were signed in 2016, the Telegraph reports. So far, Ministers have refused to consider paying more for Hinkley, pointing out that it is not a government project. Last month a government spokesman said: “Any additional costs or schedule overruns are the responsibility of EDF and its partners and will in no way fall on taxpayers.” Last year, Le Maire said EDF’s priorities should lie with France, where he wants the company to build at least six new nuclear power stations to give the nation a lead over its competitors.
The Body Shop UK has confirmed it has entered administration. Tony Wright, Geoff Rowley, and Alastair Massey of business advisory firm FRP have been appointed as joint administrators. In a statement, FRP said: “The joint administrators will now consider all options to find a way forward for the business and will update creditors and employees in due course. The Body Shop remains guided by its ambition to be a modern, dynamic beauty brand, relevant to customers and able to compete for the long term. Creating a more nimble and financially stable UK business, is an important step in achieving this”. The UK stores will continue to trade throughout the process, which obviously risks the loss of hundreds of jobs and closure of the Body Shop UK’s circa 200 stores.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has begun an investigation into Home REIT. The social housing investment trust, almost collapsed after short-seller Viceroy Research published a report in October 2022 which unveiled a catalogue of problems with the London-listed firm, including vastly over-estimated property values and significant tenant debt. Trading in Home REIT's shares has been suspended since January 2023 after it missed the deadline to publish its annual report, and it has since been selling off properties - often at a loss - and has moved away from its core function of working within the social housing sector. "Naturally, the company will cooperate fully with the FCA in its work," Home REIT said.
In the latest blow to the London Stock Exchange, discussed yesterday in our podcast, travel giant Tui is set to ditch London in favour of a single listing in Frankfurt. Shareholders have voted 98.35% in favour of the decision; only a 75% vote was required for the plans to go through. The board backed the plans in early January, citing significant “liquidity migration” from England to Germany in recent years, but said it would leave the decision up to shareholders at yesterday’s AGM.
Aldi has pledged £550m this year to open 500 more stores, bringing its total number to 1,500 and creating more than 1,500 more jobs. Giles Hurley, CEO of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “There are still areas of the country that don’t have an Aldi, or that need more or larger stores to meet demand”.
Waitrose has begun cutting prices on more than 200 products in a campaign to win back middle-class shoppers from Marks & Spencer, which has just been tipped by industry group Nielsen to overtake the John Lewis Partnership’s supermarket. The two each hold 3.8% of the market, but M&S has increased its share from 3.2% in 2021, while Waitrose has lost ground from 4.2%.
Telegraph Sport reports news that some spectators are seeking ticket refunds after watching England beat Wales at Twickenham Stadium last weekend, because they arrived to find theirs were among 627 seats designated alcohol-free zones as part of a trial. There were “chaotic” scenes, the Telegraph says, with fans having to choose between throwing away beverages or consuming them quickly in order to watch the game. One source, who spent £117 on a ticket and a further £14.70 for two drinks prior to kick-off, said he was “blindsided” when a steward told him he could not take the drink to his seat, claiming no one in his party were told of the trial. Twickenham denies fans were not made aware of the trial when booking their seats.
London-listed biotech Exscientia has dismissed CEO Andrew Hopkins after an investigation found that his relationship with two employees was "inconsistent with the company's standards and values".
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