Within hours of the General Election, the government was held to account on the international stage for the failings of the UK welfare system – with worker reps from Sweden, France, Australia, the International Transport Federation all calling on the UK government to bring UK provision into line with international minimum standards. The International Labour…
Inflation is the highest it’s been since June 2013. CPI inflation rose to 2.9% in May, from 2.7% in April. Only a year ago, CPI inflation was as low as 0.3%. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the main contributor to the latest high inflation figure was rising prices for recreational and cultural…
Last week’s General Election has engulfed Westminster in a wave of chaos and uncertainty. The local and mayoral elections held last month might therefore feel like a distant memory. But some parts of England that now have mayors with devolved powers have been getting to work, with unions at the table. The devolution agenda is…
Privatisation has cost the taxpayer over £50bn in unnecessary costs. A joint study by Essex University and Queen Mary’s University has confirmed what unions and passenger groups have been saying for years. Privatisation has been a colossal waste of money. The conclusions are damning. The “hugely damaging” breakup of British Rail in the 1990s is…
Over two days last week, politicians, company CEOs, trade unionists, economists, NGOs and thinkers gathered at the OECD in Paris to consider major issues affecting the global economy. Under the heading ‘Bridging Divides’, this year’s OECD Forum had three major themes: Inclusive growth Digitalisation Trust These issues are, of course, interlinked. There was no pretence…
Former Treasury minister David Gauke has been appointed Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. This has prompted speculation that he might bring with him an apparent enthusiasm within parts of the Treasury, and certainly some right-wing think tanks, for converting the current pension regime into one resembling ISAs. At the moment the contributions you…
This election was about bread and butter issues – what needs to change for ordinary working people. And no wonder: if current trends continue, in five years’ time 3.5 million people will be in insecure work, as gig working, self-employment, agency work and zero hours contracts rise and rise. People everywhere are feeling the pinch…
In today’s Economic Outlook the OECD show UK real wages falling by 1.1% in 2018, with nominal earnings growth of 1.5% outstripped by inflation of 2.7%. This is a big change of view on nominal earnings, which were previously expected to rise by 2.5% (in their March interim forecast). This revision must reflect earnings outcomes…
Today the OECD issue their twice yearly Economic Outlook, setting out their view of how the economy will develop, and how governments should respond. Their message for the UK government is clear: they need to invest. The headline on their economic commentary remains the weakening of GDP growth to 1.6% in 2017 and then to…
One of the strongest themes we’ve heard on the North West leg of our Britain Still Needs A Pay Rise tour has been what’s happening to wages in the public sector. Traditionally seen as a sector of “good jobs”, the years since the crash have seen a dramatic reversal. In Wallasey, I talked to council…
Devolution has a long history. The election of metro mayor’s across the UK was just the latest milestone in the devolution journey. Successive governments have recognised that the UK is far too centralised and that to unlock the full potential of the UK’s nations and region’s Whitehall needs to ‘let go’. Yet action has been…
