The Living Wage Campaign turning twenty-five is a reminder that paying people enough to live on still has to be treated as an achievement. A quarter of a century later, the moral argument remains strangely fresh, mostly because the bills keep arriving with admirable punctuality.
Money
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Gordon Brown Returns to the Homework
Gordon Brown, being asked to review global finance, feels less like an appointment and more like finding the one adult who still keeps the notes. The world has debt trouble, market nerves and institutional fog, so naturally Britain has sent for the man who understands spreadsheets emotionally.
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The Bank Holds Its Nerve, Sort Of
Bank of England minutes are where economic certainty goes to be quietly divided into voting blocs. Rates stay put, dissenters mutter about cuts, traders twitch, and everyone pretends this is a science rather than a roomful of people guessing how much pain is tolerable.
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Repercussions of the Spring Statement (Update)
The Spring Statement has left Britain with low growth, frozen thresholds and the usual promise that pain is really discipline in a better jacket. Fiscal drag sounds technical, which is useful, because ‘more people paying more tax without quite saying so’ has less official charm.
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Borrowing Gets Expensive Again
UK borrowing costs have climbed to levels not seen since 1998. In market language, the bill is getting fatter. Politics, energy fears and nervous investors have all joined hands. The Treasury now has less room to move, which means the next budget may arrive already looking apologetic.
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The Rate That Wouldn’t Move
The Bank of England has held rates at 3.75%, a decision that can be described as cautious right up until someone has to pay the invoice. Businesses wanted relief. Borrowers wanted movement. The Bank wanted to avoid another inflation scare. Nobody leaves happy, which is how monetary policy knows it has been noticed.
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No-Fault Evictions End
The Renters’ Rights Act finally removes section 21, giving tenants more protection from sudden eviction. Landlords warn it may shrink the rental market and push rents up. Housing policy has reached that familiar British stage where fixing one injustice immediately produces a queue of new problems at the side door.
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The Electric Car Tax Problem
The electric vehicle tax was meant to replace lost fuel duty. It now appears to have annoyed drivers, car makers, environmental groups and parts of the Chancellor’s own side. That takes some doing. A green transport plan that may discourage green transport does have a certain Treasury flavour.