A strike has been announced for London bus drivers calling for a better pay offer in the latest wave of industrial action to hit the UK in the cost of living crisis.
The union Unite said the action would take place over the August bank holiday weekend, with more than 1,000 set to walk out.
It claimed the dispute was a result of the workers only being offered a pay increase of 3.6 per cent this year and 4.2 per cent for next year, which it said would be a “real terms pay cut” as the real inflation rate stood at 12.3 per cent.
Meanwhile, households braced themselves for energy bills to soar even higher with the new energy price cap – which sets the maximum amount customers on standard tariffs can be charged – set to be revealed on Friday.
Experts have forecast another huge rise in energy bills from £1,971 to potentially as much as £3,600 per year as global gas prices continued to soar.
Covid briefing language ‘vague and slippery’
In some politics news, a new study has found language used by the government during its Covid-19 briefings throughout the pandemic was “vague, slippery and ambiguous” so as to reduce accountability.
Samuel Lovett, our senior news correspondent, reports:
‘Slippery and ambiguous’ language used by ministers during Covid briefs, study says
‘The government speakers employed different lexicogrammatical strategies to reduce and mitigate the amount of responsibility to themselves solely, while increasing the amount assigned to the general public’
ICYMI: The current situation in UK’s cost of living crisis
Official figures laid out how Britons were being affected in the cost of living crisis last week.
They showed:
- Real wages fell at a record rate between April and June
- Inflation has slashed the value of workers’ pay
- Soaring costs for gas, electricity, fuel, food and other goods have pushed the overall inflation rate to 9.4 per cent
Ben Chapman, our business reporter, has the full story:
Wages plunge at record rate as cost of living crisis deepens
Real wages fall 3% after inflation but government claims ‘jobs market is strong’ as public sector workers receive huge pay cut and bankers enjoy big bonuses
London bus drivers to strike over pay
More than 1,000 bus drivers in London are set to walk out over the August bank holiday weekend over a pay dispute.
It follows a number of other worker strikes in a call for better pay in the cost of living crisis.
Trade union Unite said 1,600 drivers at bus company London United would strike on Sunday and Monday, adding disruption to services which could affect those attending the Notting Hill Carnival.
Unite claims the dispute is a result of the workers only being offered a pay increase of 3.6 per cent for 2022 and 4.2 per cent for next year, saying it would be a “real terms pay cut” because the real inflation rate stands at 12.3 per cent.
Winter rebate details
In another scheme, households are set to g et £400 knocked off their energy bills this winter.
Here is everything you need to know about this rebate:
Who gets the £400 energy rebate and winter fuel payment?
Households will start receiving money off their energy bills from October
Truss ‘ready’ to hit nuclear button if necessary
Conservative leadership frontrunner Liz Truss said she is “ready” to launch nuclear war if she becomes prime minister next month, Adam Forrest reports.
The foreign secretary told a Tory hustings event in Birmingham that she was willing to hit Britain’s nuclear button if necessary – even if meant “global annihilation”.
Liz Truss says she’s ‘ready’ to hit nuclear button if necessary
Tory leadership frontrunner appeared emotionless when asked how ‘annihilation’ would make her feel
Full story: Three million people left waiting for their £150 energy bill rebate
More than three million households eligible for a £150 government payment to help with soaring energy bills had reportedly still not received the money by 1 July, Matt Mathers reports.
Earlier this year the government announced that some households would get a rebate on their council tax bill to help with the rising cost of gas and electricity.
Three million people left waiting for their £150 energy bill rebate
Councils urged to make payment ‘as soon as possible’ from April
Levelling up bill does ‘little to reassure’ policy is ‘just a slogan’
The government’s flagship bill aimed at spreading opportunity across the UK does “little to reassure” that levelling up is “more than a slogan”, ministers have been warned.
A cross-party group of MPs has written to Communities Secretary Greg Clark, telling him that the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill currently making its way through Parliament lacks detail.
The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee also expressed concern that the bill will lead to local councils having less of a say over planning decisions in their own back yard, while central Government is given more power.
The Labour chair, Clive Betts, said: “In its current form, the bill does little to reassure that levelling up will prove to be more than just a slogan and that we will have meaningful change in local communities across the country.
“In key areas, it is unclear how the government intends to drive change and they are yet to commit to the spending that is necessary to level up the country.”
‘Postcode lottery’ over rebate
A charity warned earlier this year there was a “postcode lottery” over how quickly households were getting this rebate to help with soaring energy bills.
Read up here:
Poorest households face ‘postcode lottery’ for £150 energy rebate, says charity
Adam Scorer, chief executive of the NEA, described the Government’s response as ‘wholly inadequate so far’.
What help is on offer during cost of living crisis?
Let’s have a quick reminder of what government help households are being given in the cost of living crisis:
All the cost of living help you may be entitled to and how to get the payments
Former chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a host of new measures after criticism the government was not doing enough to address economic hardship
Opinion: Liz Truss is walking into the same trap that snared Theresa May
Andrew Grice has some thoughts of Liz Truss’ leadership campaign.
“Truss’ approach is naive in the 24/7 media age,” he writes. “If politicians don’t respond in real time, they are eaten alive by the beast.”
Read more here:
Liz Truss is walking into the same trap that snared Theresa May | Andrew Grice
Truss’s approach is naive in the 24/7 media age. If politicians don’t respond in real time, they are eaten alive by the beast
