The Week That Was
Britain’s inflation “worst in the G7”
This week the Office for National Statistics published data showing that Britain’s consumer price inflation hit 10.1% in the year to July, the biggest inflationary increase since 1982.
A range of economists are pointing to high food prices as the main driver for this inflationary pressure. Consumers are certainly feeling the pinch, with the price of ingredients for a full English fry-up rising by 17% and the cost of milk rising by over 7% in just a month.
The Bank of England is under pressure to try to solve the issue, with a significant rise in interest rates expected this month to try to cool the inflation spike.
More graft
The race to become leader of the Conservative Party and the UK’s next Prime Minister is thankfully entering its final stages.
All the evidence points to Liz Truss taking the crown, with a YouGov poll this week giving her a 37% lead over Rishi Sunak.
Her campaign did hit a pothole this week, with leaked audio revealing Truss’ belief that British workers needed “more graft” and that they lacked the “skill and application” of foreign workers. Truss, who has put patriotism at the heart of her leadership campaign, suggested the disparity was “partly a mindset or attitude thing”.
The remarks were rather tame compared to her claims in 2012 that British workers were some of the “worst idlers in the world”.
Bikes and strikes
A huge fire under the tracks near London Bridge station is thought to have been caused when an electric bike “exploded” in a lock-up, disrupting travel for thousands of commuters. A separate ebike caught fire last week in the same garage but it was put out by workers.
That was not the only train disaster of the week…
Mick Lynch, boss of the RMT union, which is leading today's train strike, says action by his union will continue "until we reach a settlement." Network Rail's boss says the ongoing dispute over pay, jobs and conditions can be unlocked by putting a proposed deal to union members the government says the unions are "hell-bent on causing misery" for travellers.
