6:48 am, November 8, 2022
Sunak considering raising state pensions and benefits with inflation
Rishi Sunak is considering raising state pensions and benefits in line with inflation in a move that would likely usher in deeper public spending cuts elsewhere and higher tax rises.
The prime minister and chancellor Jeremy Hunt are considering imposing up to £60bn in tax rises and spending cuts in the autumn budget on November 17.
Treasury sources insisted no decisions have been taken, but did not deny a report in the Times stating they would avoid real-terms cuts on pensions and benefits.
Gavin Williamson reportedly told civil servant ‘slit your throat’
Sir Gavin Williamson allegedly told a senior civil servant to ‘slit your throat’ in what they claimed was a bullying campaign while he was defence secretary.
Rishi Sunak is under increasing pressure over his decision to bring his ally back into government after The Guardian reported fresh incendiary claims about his conduct.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) official told the newspaper Sir Gavin made the remarks in front of colleagues in a meeting, and on another occasion told them to ‘jump out of the window’. The Cabinet Office minister said he ‘strongly’ rejects the allegation and insisted he has ‘enjoyed good working relationships’ with officials.
Households start to receive £324 cost-of-living payments into bank accounts
Millions of people on low incomes will start to receive payments of £324 into their bank accounts from Tuesday as part of the government’s cost-of-living support.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will start making the payments directly into eligible people’s bank accounts from Tuesday.
There is no need for people to apply or do anything to receive it – so people should watch out for texts or emails from scammers inviting them to make applications.
Biden and Trump make final pitches on eve of midterms
Candidates and big-name backers made final appeals to voters in the last hours of a fraught midterm election season.
‘We know in our bones that our democracy is at risk,’ Biden said during an evening rally in Maryland, where Democrats have one of their best opportunities to reclaim a Republican-held governor’s seat. ‘I want you to know, we’ll meet this moment.’
The man at the centre of most January 6 debate, former president Donald Trump, was in Ohio for his final rally of the 2022 campaign — and already thinking about his own future in 2024. He had teased that he might formally launch a third presidential run at Monday night’s rally with Senate candidate JD Vance — which Trump concluded by promising a ‘big announcement’ next week at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Retail sales slow as consumers turn to pre-loved gifts for Christmas
Retail sales slowed in October as retailers brace themselves for consumers opting for pre-loved gifts and strict budgets this Christmas to cope with soaring bills.
Retail sales during October grew by just over one per cent in value year on year, driven by inflationary pressures and masking falling sales volumes as shoppers bought fewer items per visit, British Retail Consortium (BRC) figures show.
It came as separate figures from Barclaycard also showed that card spending was up 3.5 per cent on last October – higher than September’s 1.8 per cent but well below the 8.8 per cent rise in consumer inflation. The BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor for October revealed that total sales grew by 1.6 per cent over the month, compared with 1.3 per cent in the same period last year.
Citroen boosts electric range of C5 X and C5 Aircross hybrids
Citroen has updated its plug-in hybrid C5 X and C5 Aircross models, bringing better electric-only ranges and improved efficiency in the process.
The new C5 Aircross plug-in hybrid now offers up to 41 miles of electric-only range – up from 40 miles previously – meaning it also moves from the current 12 per cent benefit-in-kind (BiK) taxation band into a lower eight per cent band. For context, this reduces the cost for a 40 per cent taxpayer by £47 per month.
The new C5 X, meanwhile, retains the same 12.4kWh battery as before, but the move over the Euro 6.4 emissions standards helps to boost the battery’s minimum charge threshold. It increases the range to 39 miles, an increase on the 34 miles available previously.
Monday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Arnold Clark rumoured to have snapped up car dealer group Cars 2
- Car dealer Munich Legends stamps out false reports it has gone into administration
- How much profit do car dealers really make on new and used cars?
- Motorpoint gives £1,000 to hospices as it opens store in Coventry
- Cost-of-living crisis sees drivers look to take on more debt to stay on the road
- Eastern Western queries whether people are ‘desperate for digital-only’ as it sees pre-tax profit more than double to £32m
- Bristol Street Motors Ford colleagues raise thousands in charity skydive challenge
ScotRail services return to normal but Christmas strike threat looms
ScotRail services will return to normal timetables on Tuesday after planned strike action was suspended.
Network Rail workers with the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) had been set to walk out on Saturday November 5, Monday November 7 and Wednesday November 9, but on Friday the RMT announced it would suspend action to allow for negotiations over pay.
ScotRail was unable to reintroduce services earlier than Tuesday due to Network Rail being unable to fully open across all routes, the operator said. The train operator is encouraging customers planning to travel in coming days to continue to check their entire journey before they head to the station.
Which? tells supermarkets to do more for customers through cost-of-living crisis
Which? has called on supermarkets to sign up to a 10-point plan to help customers through the cost-of-living crisis as it named the 50 areas where people are most likely to struggle to access affordable food.
The consumer group said supermarkets needed to ‘do more’ to help customers by ensuring shelf prices are easy to understand, making healthy budget lines widely available and providing targeted promotions to support people in areas that are struggling the most.
Factors such as low income, poor access to affordable food, having no large supermarkets nearby and a lack of online shopping deliveries contributed to making it difficult for people to find healthy and affordable food, the watchdog warned.
Weather outlook
A bright and breezy start for many but heavy showers will soon move in from the south-west across most of the country, reports BBC Weather.
Rain will continue to lash many parts of the UK tonight. Eastern areas will turn drier later on.
