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An update from our Parlimentary Advisors
Ministers are bracing for a fresh wave of NHS and teacher strikes as the GMB union has denounced pay rises of up to 5.4% as “derisory”. Teaching unions are also upset with a mooted 4% increase. Capital Economics Deputy Chief UK Economist Ruth Gregory said the £7 billion worth of public sector pay rises makes tax rises in the Autumn Budget “inevitable”, as the Chancellor has to balance “spending pressures in an environment of low economic growth and high interest rates”. Additionally, the Royal College of Nursing has said that it is “grotesque” that nurses who are paid less than doctors have received a pay offer of just 3.6%. The Health Secretary West Streeting and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson have defended the pay offers, insisting they are the second above-inflation pay increases for public sector workers since Labour took power.
Ofgem has cut the price cap which limits standard gas and electricity tariffs by 7%, reducing the typical bill by £129. Its announcement this morning says the energy cap will be set at £1,720 from July to September. While this is lower than the current cap of £1,849, it is 9% higher than the cap of £1,568 for July to September last year. According to market analysis, 90% of this price drop is due to a fall in wholesale gas prices, with the rest down to changes in how much suppliers can charge to cover operating costs. However, Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive at Citizens Advice, said the latest energy price cap announcement would be “cold comfort to the millions paying off a mountain of debt on top of their monthly costs”.
South Western Railway will be nationalised this weekend as the Government starts to enact its commitment to bring train services into public ownership. The operator, which is one of the country’s busiest and operates commuter lines out of London Waterloo, will be the first train company nationalised under the Labour Government. Over the coming years, all remaining private train operators will be nationalised either as their contracts end or when break clauses are enacted; C2C and Greater Anglia will join the list of nationalised operators later this year.
