7:11 am, March 15, 2023
Chancellor to unveil ‘back-to-work’ Budget for growth boost
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is set to use a ‘Budget for growth’ to boost efforts to get people back to work, with a multi-billion-pound expansion of childcare support forming a key part of the package.
Announcements on energy bill support, benefits reform and pensions allowances are all expected to form part of the Budget as well when Hunt addresses MPs this afternoon, even if he is expected to resist calls from Tory backbenchers to go further on tax cuts.
The plan is believed to include 30 hours a week of childcare for parents in England with one- and two-year-olds, building significantly on the current provision.
Mass walkouts as teachers, junior doctors and Tube drivers striking
Hundreds of thousands of workers will stage a strike today in what threatens to be the biggest walkout since the current wave of industrial action started last year.
Members of several trade unions will take action, mounting hundreds of picket lines across the country amid continuing anger over issues including pay, jobs, pensions and conditions.
Those striking include teachers, university lecturers, civil servants, junior doctors, London Underground drivers and BBC journalists.
Facebook owner Meta to axe another 10,000 jobs
Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp parent company Meta is to cut around 10,000 jobs globally – just four months after it axed 11,000 workers.
The group’s founder and boss, Mark Zuckerberg, told staff in a company blog that Meta is also looking to ditch about 5,000 open job vacancies as part of his Year Of Efficiency push to slash costs and restructure the firm.
Shoppers in 13 areas ‘could face higher prices’ from Asda petrol station deal
Asda’s deal of around £600m to buy Co-op petrol forecourts could result in ‘higher prices or less choice’ for motorists and shoppers in 13 locations, the UK competition watchdog has warned.
The Competitions and Market Authority opened an investigation into Asda’s acquisition of 132 petrol stations and adjoining shops in January.
The areas weren’t named, but Asda was yesterday given five working days to offer the regulator a proposal to help address its concerns.
Government ‘must transform UK ports to boost floating offshore wind farms’
The government needs to transform up to 11 ports around the UK to enable the roll-out of floating offshore wind farms at scale, according to a new report.
The Floating Offshore Wind Taskforce – which includes renewable trade associations plus major offshore wind and port developers – said up to 34 gigawatts could be installed by 2040 if the government takes swift action.
It said ministers should improve their ambitions to install five gigawatts by 2030, urging the government to invest £4bn and saying that every £1 invested in UK port facilities would generate up to £4.30 of added value to the economy.
Hundreds of experts sign letter against government’s ‘unworkable’ migrant Bill
More than 300 academic experts in migration have signed a joint letter to the government to object to the UK’s Illegal Immigration Bill, arguing the policy isn’t ‘evidence based, workable, or legal under human rights law’.
The scholars, from mostly British universities, warned the Bill won’t stop small boats crossing the Channel but would increase ‘the chance of death’ as people were funnelled into more dangerous journeys.
The letter, published online and in The Times today, says ‘there is no evidence that we are aware of, as experts in this field, to suggest that deterrence-based approaches are effective’.
Ex-Australian PM says submarines deal ‘worst in all history’
Former Australian prime minister Paul Keating has said his nation’s plan to buy nuclear-powered submarines from the United States to modernise its fleet ‘must be the worst deal in all history’.
Speaking at a National Press Club event, Keating said the submarines wouldn’t serve a useful military purpose.
Dawn French poster cleared over ‘serious offence’ complaints
A poster stating that ‘Dawn French is a huge twat’ has been cleared by the advertising watchdog following two complaints that it was likely to cause serious or widespread offence.
The advert for the actress and comedian’s upcoming UK tour was seen in The Sunday Times Culture magazine on December 4.
Promoter Phil McIntyre Live said it was regrettable that the ads had caused offence to the people who complained but the title of the show was humorous and aimed any offence at French herself.
Chris Rea’s classic Land Rover heads to auction
Chris Rea is putting his ‘beloved’ Land Rover Series I under the hammer later this month.
The Driving Home for Christmas singer bought the classic off-roader in 2021. It has been in long-term ownership for some 25 years and is believed to have undergone a rebuild in the 1970s, with a Rover 2000 SC engine fitted.
Only ‘lightly used’ and kept in dry storage, the Land Rover recently had a new roof and replacement tailgate fitted. Up for sale by Classic Car Auctions during the Practical Classics Car and Restoration Show at the Birmingham NEC from March 25 to 26, it has an estimate of £10,000 to £12,000.
Yesterday’s headlines on Car Dealer you might have missed
- Jaguar Land Rover dealers face booking multi-million-pound losses when showroom axe falls
- Cambria’s Mark Lavery: There will be no publicly listed dealer groups by the end of the year
- Close Brothers explores what the future looks like for alternatively fuelled vehicles
- Replay all of last week’s exclusive Car Dealer Live interview sessions in full now
- EV buyers are becoming less happy to rely on public chargers alone – survey
- First Drive: Has the new wave of Chinese brands got what it takes as we test BYD’s Atto 3?
Market movements
The FTSE 100 closed up 88.48 points yesterday to end on 7,637.11. The Cac 40 was up 130.07 points at 7,141.57, the Dax was up 273.36 points at 15,232.83 and the Dow Jones was up 336.26 points at 32,155.40.
Weather outlook
Today will start chilly and bright for most but cloudier in the west with rain, says BBC Weather. Rain will spread east during the afternoon, turning to hill snow in the north.
Thursday morning will see heavy rain spreading across the north. Further south will be mainly cloudy with heavy showers in the west but mostly dry and brighter in the east. It’ll also be windy.
