6:54 am, December 6, 2022
Network Rail workers to stage extra strike over Christmas
Network Rail workers are to stage an extra strike in the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will walk out from 6pm on Christmas Eve until 6am on December 27 and will press ahead with two 48-hour strikes next week.
The union announced it will put the latest offer from Network Rail (NR) to its members, with a recommendation to reject.
Companies to hear about energy bill support before year end
Companies will know about the future of the support they will get on their energy bills by the end of the year as many worry about the end of the current support in April.
The top civil servant at the business department said her officials had been trying to figure out which companies will need extra help after the support scheme becomes more targeted next year.
‘We are currently working with HMT (His Majesty’s Treasury) on a … review of the non-domestic energy support scheme,’ said Sarah Munby, permanent secretary at the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Department.
Starmer hopes to abolish House of Lords in Labour’s first term
Labour would aim to abolish the ‘indefensible’ House of Lords ‘as quickly as possible’, ideally within its first term, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
But the party’s leader did not commit to a timeframe for the move, stressing discussions are pending on when ‘exactly’ it would come to pass.
The proposal forms part of Labour’s blueprint for a “New Britain”, outlined in the report of its commission on the UK’s future – headed by ex-premier Gordon Brown.
FTSE positive at close amid Chinese relaxation of Covid curbs
The FTSE outperformed its European rivals on Monday as the markets considered the tentative moves from China towards reopening its economy.
The British stock index finished the day up 11.31 points, or 0.15 per cent, at 7,567.54.
Elsewhere, the German Dax declined 0.41 per cent by the end of the session and the French Cac finished 0.54 per cent lower.
Monday’s Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Criminal dealer JDM Cars drags legitimate trader Jim Reid into its web of lies
- Police hunting for woman who posed as customer to steal Audi from Winchester dealership
- Fast EV chargers are now cheaper to use than slow ones, new analysis shows
- New van sales drop by more than a fifth to lowest November level in nine years
- Here’s how car dealers can benefit from MB’s latest upgrade to its Event Platform
- November sees fourth consecutive month of growth for new car sales
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Off-roader set to be first mass-produced car built in Scotland for 40 years
An electric, off-road vehicle intended to go anywhere is set to become the first car to be mass-produced in Scotland for 40 years.
The Munro MK_1 will be the first car to enter mass production in Scotland since the Chrysler factory in Linwood, near Paisley, closed in 1981.
The new 4×4, being built by Munro Vehicles, already has orders coming in from around the globe. Deliveries of the Munro are expected to commence in 2023.
Eighth child believed to have died with Strep A infection
An eighth child is believed to have died with an invasive form of the Strep A bacteria.
Morelands Primary, in Waterlooville, Hampshire, reportedly said it is ‘absolutely devastated’ by the loss of one of its pupils.
It comes after the seventh death from Strep A was of a year eight secondary school pupil in south-east London.
Lexus working on electric cars with manual gearboxes as brand confirms future ‘high-performance EV sports car’
Lexus has announced that it is working on developing electric cars to have manual gearboxes as the brand works to ‘reinvent’ the driving experience of EVs.
While the Japanese manufacturer might be better known for its sensible hybrid models these days, the brand has a fantastic history when it comes to performance cars – not least the LFA supercar of the 2010s.
A similar halo Lexus model is also now in the pipeline, as shown with the ‘Electrified Sport’ concept car.
Weather outlook…
Today will see a cool northerly flow. Southern and western parts will be largely dry with sunny spells, but patchy cloud and showers will push into the north and east, these wintry on the hills, the BBC reports.
Tonight, a northerly flow will continue to push showers into north Scotland and down North Sea coasts, falling increasingly wintry to lower levels. Largely clear elsewhere but cloudy in the southeast.
Tomorrow, wintry showers will persist across northern Scotland, edging into North Sea coastal areas at times. Drier and brighter elsewhere, with just a few showers along western coasts. A cold day.
