6:50 am, September 23, 2022
National insurance hike to be cancelled from November 6, says Kwarteng
The national insurance hike introduced by Boris Johnson’s government will be reversed from November 6, Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has announced.
Ahead of his mini-budget today, Kwarteng confirmed that he was cancelling the 1.25 percentage point increase imposed by Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor to pay for social care and dealing with the NHS backlog.
Kwarteng said he would also be scrapping the planned Health and Social Care Levy which was due to come into effect next April to replace the national insurance rise.
UK ‘in recession’ as Bank of England hikes interest rates to highest since 2008
The Bank of England has announced it will hike interest rates to their highest in more than 13 years and indicated it believes the economy is already in recession.
The central bank had previously projected the economy would grow in the current financial quarter but said it now believes Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will fall 0.1 per cent.
t comes after a reported 0.2 per cent fall in GDP in the second quarter and would mean the economy is currently in recession.
Energy support for businesses will continue after six months, Rees-Mogg insists
Energy support will be available to businesses next year, with the current “broad brush” policy replaced by a targeted approach, the Business Secretary has said.
Jacob Rees-Mogg insisted there would be further support after April 1, after announcing the government would for the next six months foot part of the rocketing energy bills faced by businesses, charities, schools and hospitals.
In the Commons, the business secretary said a planned three-month review of the measures will be an opportunity to decide which organisations will need continuing support after April.
Young drivers hit with £385 year-on-year jump in car running costs
The cost of running a car for young drivers has risen by an average of £385 in the past year, according to new figures.
On average, a 17- to 24-year-old motorist will now pay £2,488 per year to run their car, with increases driven by higher fuel and insurance costs according to Comparethemarket’s Young Drivers research.
The typical annual fuel costs for young motorists have increased by £244 in 12 months, going from £748 to £992.
Markets tumble into red as interest rate hikes increase economic worries
Markets in London and across Europe slid on Thursday as a raft of interest rate rises added further to the economic gloom facing traders.
The FTSE 100 ended the day down 78.12 points, or 1.08 per cent, at 7,159.62.
The German Dax declined 1.78 per cent by the end of the session and the French Cac finished 1.79 per cent lower.
Thursday’s Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Police hunting for car thief who injured staff as he stole BMW from Leicestershire dealership
- Drive Motor Retail reports bumper profits as bosses say firm ‘outperformed the national average in all areas’
- Black Horse managing director Richard Jones to join MotoNovo in shock move
- Gates Ford books £6.37m pre-tax profit after ‘arduous year for the automotive retail industry’
- Citroen to give first 2,000 customers of Ami free electric charging
- IMDA signs up with MOTOM after automotive social network impresses with ‘robust, functional and feature-rich’ service
- Public chargepoint operators ask chancellor for VAT cut to combat rising electricity costs
Most electric car owners unhappy with public charging infrastructure – survey
Nearly three out of four electric vehicle (EV) owners are unhappy with the UK’s public charging system, a survey suggests.
The poll of almost 1,500 members of consumer group Which? who drive a pure electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle highlights the difficulties many motorists have finding a charger that works.
Some 74 per cent of respondents said they are dissatisfied with charging infrastructure.
40,000 rail workers to walk out in fresh strike action
Another rail strike has been announced for next month, continuing the wave of industrial action sweeping the country.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) announced that 40,000 of its members at Network Rail and 15 train operators will walk out on October 8.
Rail strikes are already planned on October 1 and 5, threatening fresh travel chaos for passengers.
Boy, 15, fatally stabbed outside school gates identified by police
A 15-year-old boy who was fatally stabbed outside his school gates has been identified by police as Khayri McLean.
The teenager died in hospital following an attack close to the entrance of North Huddersfield Trust School (NHTS) in Woodhouse Hill at 2.45pm on Wednesday, West Yorkshire Police said.
A 16-year-old boy remains in police custody after being arrested on suspicion of murder at an address in Huddersfield shortly before 5am on Thursday.
Britons freed by Russian-backed forces hailed as ‘defenders of democracy’
Three Britons released from captivity by Russian-backed forces have been hailed as defenders of ‘democracy and freedom’ by their former commander in Ukraine.
It is understood that John Harding, Dylan Healy and Andrew Hill were set free alongside Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin on Wednesday, landing in Britain in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Three of the five – Mr Harding, Mr Pinner and Mr Aslin – are believed to have served in the Georgian Legion, a pro-Ukrainian volunteer unit, under Mamuka Mamulashvili.
Citroen wants to bring Ami Buggy to the UK
Citroen UK wants to make the smash-hit Ami Buggy available to British buyers.
The off-road-inspired version of the quirky Ami electric quadricycle was put on sale in France earlier this year, and all 50 units sold out in under 18 minutes.
Now Citroen UK is interested in adding the Buggy model to its Ami range – but first, it has to win over bosses in Citroen France.
Weather outlook
Today, the south-east will be largely cloudy with outbreaks of rain, which may fall heavy at times. For the rest of the UK, there will be a mixture of sunny spells and scattered showers, the BBC reports.
Tonight, the far south-east will remain cloudy and wet until dawn. Further showers will develop in south-eastern Scotland, north-eastern England, Northern Ireland and northern Wales. It will be dry elsewhere.
Tomorrow, Scotland and N Ireland will be dry with sunny spells throughout. England and Wales will have a mixture of sunny spells and scattered showers for many. Showers will ease by the evening.
