6:52 am, February 8, 2023
Supreme Court set to rule on lawfulness of Northern Ireland Protocol
The Supreme Court will later rule on the lawfulness of Brexit’s Northern Ireland Protocol.
Arguments were considered by the UK’s highest court at a two-day hearing last year after the Court of Appeal upheld a ruling in Belfast High Court dismissing the legal challenge.
The protocol, which is a key aspect of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, was jointly designed by London and Brussels to keep Ireland’s land border free flowing following the UK’s departure from the EU.
Three British nationals missing after earthquake
Three British nationals are missing after a huge earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
It comes as UK aid charities say reports of the devastation are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’.
Foreign secretary James Cleverley said the department’s Crisis Response Hub is working to support at least 35 Britons caught up in the disaster. A number of relief organisations have urged the public to dig deep and donate, saying the help they are able to provide over the next few days ‘will save lives’.
Sunak carries out Whitehall shake-up as he reshuffles ministers
Rishi Sunak has carried out a sweeping shake-up of Whitehall, creating a new department for energy security and net zero to be headed up by Grant Shapps amid promises to cut household bills and halve inflation.
The creation of four new government departments, aimed at boosting economic growth and addressing the energy crisis, marks a major reshaping of some key government departments.
Greg Hands and Lucy Frazer join Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet in the reshuffle and become Conservative Party chairman and culture secretary, respectively. Kemi Badenoch, who was international trade secretary, will now lead the joint Department for Business and Trade, while Michelle Donelan moves from culture to the new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Epsom College to close as police investigate ‘possible murder-suicide’
A private school where the headteacher was found dead alongside her husband and their daughter will reportedly close until after the half-term break as police conduct a homicide investigation.
Emma Pattison, 45, was found dead with her husband George Pattison, 39, and their seven-year-old daughter Lettie at their home in the grounds of Epsom College in Surrey on Sunday.
The deaths are being investigated as a possible murder-suicide.
100,000 civil servants to strike on Budget Day in pay dispute
Around 100,000 civil servants are to strike on Budget Day in their long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union said it was escalating its campaign of industrial action by targeting March 15.
Next month’s strike could be joined by a further 33,000 PCS members working for 10 more employers, including HM Revenue & Customs, whose strike ballot results are due later this month.
UK to dodge recession, but one in four families will struggle with bills – Niesr
Britain will narrowly avoid a recession this year, but there will be little respite for under-pressure families – with around seven million households expected to struggle to pay energy and food bills, according to an economic think tank.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) has forecast that the UK will swerve a technical recession – as defined by two or more quarters of falling gross domestic product (GDP) in a row – not just in the final three months of 2022, but also throughout 2023.
But that is largely where the optimism ends, with Niesr warning in its latest report that it will ‘certainly feel like a recession’, with real personal disposable income having contracted for four consecutive quarters. It projects that one in four UK households – some seven million families – will be unable to meet in full their planned energy and food bills from their post-tax income in the 2023-24 financial year, up from around one in five in 2022-23.
Inflation set to add £18.2bn to UK non-food retail sales – report
Inflation is set to add £18.2bn to UK non-food retail sales this year, a report suggests.
Sales values are expected to hit £249bn in 2023, but the 2.6 per cent increase – or an additional £18.2bn of spending on last year – will be driven entirely by rising consumer prices, according to the Ecommerce Delivery Benchmark Report by Auctane and the consultancy Retail Economics.
A survey for the study of more than 730 retail businesses across eight international markets found that 80 per cent of retailers are planning to increase the price of products, with 40 per cent suggesting rising costs will be their biggest challenge this year.
Tuesday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Nissan questions future of Sunderland plant, admitting government support is needed
- Buying process and customer service sparked most complaints about EVs in 2022
- Australian start-up named as preferred bidder to buy Britishvolt with takeover due this week
- Marshall Motor Group appoints Mark Hemus as chief financial officer
- Motors.co.uk to continue Chris Moyles Show sponsorship as firm launches new multimedia marketing campaign
- Aramis Group announces new multi-million-pound refurbishing centre as fellow online retailer Cazoo continues to close sites
- Family-run Shelbourne Motors celebrates 50 glorious years with £3m investment programme
BMW’s X5 and X6 SUVs updated for 2023
BMW has unveiled revised versions of its large X5 and X6 SUVs, which now boast some form of hybrid technology across the range as well as the brand’s latest in-car technology.
The two SUVs get BMW’s ‘Curved Display’ inside, which merges together a 12.3-inch digital dial display and a large 14.9-inch touchscreen to give the cabin a very modern feel. New upholsteries and touch sensitive buttons feature, as does revised exterior styling and the addition of an illuminated grille.
All engines now feature some form of electrification, while the plug-in hybrid xDrive45e becomes the xDrive50e on account of its new 3.0-litre straight six petrol engine, a more powerful electric motor (the car’s total power is now 483bhp, 93bhp more than before), and a larger 25.7kWh battery. A pure-electric range of 68 miles is now possible.
Prices for the revised X5 and X6 start at £66,230 and £72,430 respectively. First UK deliveries are expected in April.
Weather outlook
Patchy fog will clear leaving a day of sunshine in the south today, reports BBC Weather. Further north it will be cloudier and windier, with a band of rain pushing in from the north-west later.
Tonight, cloud and rain will push from the north to the south-east leaving clear spells behind.
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