Demonstrators hold placards during The People's Assembly Cost of Living Crisis protest on April 2, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Hollie Adams/Getty Images)
Tens of thousands of Britons are set to protest in London today (18) in protest over the government’s handling of the cost of living crisis.
Demonstration, organised by Trades Union Congress (TUC), will call on government to make “better deal” for people struggling to cope with soaring inflation. The protest march will start at midday from Portland Place to Parliament Square.
Pointing out that workers suffering the “longest and harshest” squeeze on earnings in modern history, Frances O’Grady, TUC general secretary, said that prices are skyrocketing, yet boardroom bonuses are back to bumper levels.
“Everyone who works for a living deserves to earn a decent living, but UK workers are suffering the longest and harshest squeeze on their earnings in modern history.
“If we don’t get pay rising across the economy, we will just keep lurching from crisis to crisis. This cost of living emergency has not come out of the blue. It is the result of more than a decade of standstill wages,” O’Grady said.
He further added that it was “gut wrenching” to hear how workers were struggling, with no safety net to fall back on and the pay slump showing little sign of slowing.
It comes a day after it a new survey revealed that more than eight in 10 people (81 percent) are worried about the rising cost of living as the cost of domestic energy, petrol, and food have all increased significantly in recent months.
In the latest results, two thirds (66 percent) of those with worries said this was having a negative effect on their mental health. Nearly half (45 percent) said their physical health had been affected.
A file photo of Buns and Buns restaurant in Covent Garden Market, London. Sectors like accommodation and food services are expected to be hit hard by higher living wage and employer national insurance contributions in April.
Britain's economy unexpectedly shrank in January, official data showed Friday, piling more pressure on the Labour government ahead of its Spring Statement on the economy.
Gross domestic product contracted 0.1 per cent in the month after GDP rose 0.4 per cent in December, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to make billions of pounds of spending cuts, including to welfare, in the government's Spring Statement on March 26, a follow-up to her inaugural budget last October, as public finances struggle under high inflation and borrowing.
"The world has changed and across the globe we are feeling the consequences," Reeves said in a statement responding to the data.
The data provides a fresh blow to the government and prime minister Keir Starmer, who has put growing the UK economy at the top of his mission since Labour won a general election in July.
"The fall in January was driven by a notable slowdown in manufacturing, with oil and gas extraction and construction also having weak months," noted Liz McKeown, director of economics at the ONS.
"However, services continued to grow in January led by a strong month for retail, especially food stores, as people ate and drank at home more," she added.
Nicholas Hyett, investment manager, Wealth Club noted that the dramatic slowdown in sectors like accommodation and food services which expect to be hit hard by higher living wage and employer national insurance contributions in April, is “really worrying.”
“Tariffs and increased labour costs were more worries than reality in January, the month covered by these numbers. Those worries will soon be transforming into realities,” Hyett said.
“That leaves plenty of room for economic growth to deteriorate further, with far fewer catalysts to spark an economic recovery. We could be at the start of a long slow slide into recession.”
US president Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to slap a 200 per cent tariff on wine, cognac and other alcohol imports from Europe, opening a new front in a global trade war that has roiled financial markets and raised recession fears.
Stocks fell on the news, as investors worried that Trump would enact stiffer trade barriers around the world's largest consumer market. The S&P 500 finished the day more than 10 per cent below its record high reached last month, confirming the benchmark index for US stocks is in a correction.
Trump's threat came in response to a European Union plan to impose tariffs on American whiskey and other products next month - which itself is a reaction to Trump's 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that took effect on Wednesday. The European Commission had no immediate comment on the move.
Canada, a neighbor and close ally that is the biggest aluminum provider to the US, has also announced countermeasures to Trump's metals tariffs and has taken the dispute to the World Trade Organisation. Talks between US and Canadian officials on Thursday failed to produce a breakthrough.
Trump has threatened to impose an array of trade penalties since returning to the White House in January, though he has postponed action on many of them. At an Oval Office meeting with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte later on Thursday, he said he would not back off from reciprocal tariffs he has vowed to impose on all trading partners on April 2.
"We've been ripped off for years, and we're not going to be ripped off," he said.
Alcohol is shaping up to be a key friction point in the brewing trade war.
Some Canadian retailers have pulled American bourbon from their shelves as relations between the two countries have frayed and Trump has threatened to annex that country.
US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick met with Canadian finance minister Dominic LeBlanc and Ontario premier Doug Ford on Thursday to discuss the metals tariffs, as well as economic and national security issues, the Canadian officials said.
Following his meeting with Lutnick, Ford told reporters in Washington: "We had a very, very productive meeting ... we feel the temperature is being lowered, and we've also agreed that we're going to have another meeting next week."
LeBlanc said Canadian officials have made clear that they will not reopen dairy provisions of the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, a demand repeatedly made by Trump, who has railed against Canada's high tariffs on US dairy products. But he said the issue was not discussed with Lutnick on Thursday.
He said it was not particularly helpful to have the tariffs in place in the run up to a review of USMCA.
Many of the EU's proposed countermeasures, worth €26 billion (£21bn), would apply to products with little more than symbolic value, such as dental floss and bathrobes.
But the proposed 50 per cent duty on US bourbon would be a significant hit for the industry, which has seen exports grow steadily since the United States lifted tariffs Trump imposed during his 2017-2021 term in office.
The EU accounted for roughly 40 per cent of all spirits exports in 2023, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, a trade group.
Likewise, the United States accounts for 31 per cent of EU wine and spirits exports, according to Eurostat.
Trump's proposed 200 per cent tax on European alcohol would create further headwinds for producers like Pernod Ricard, which has already cut its sales outlook due to Chinese duties imposed last year.
Industry calls for more toasts, fewer tariffs
Industry officials on both sides of the Atlantic urged their leaders to de-escalate.
"This cycle of tit-for-tat retaliation must end now!" said spiritsEurope, an industry trade group.
Trump says tariffs are needed to revitalise US industries shrunken after decades of globalisation, and he has stacked his administration with officials who agree with those views.
Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said he was not worried about Wall Street volatility because the Trump administration is focused on a longer-term transformation of the U.S. economy.
He warned that the EU has more to lose in a trade war, as it relies more on exports to the United States.
"I would counsel these government leaders that they are on the losing side of this argument economically," he said on CNBC.
Trump's barrage of threats has spooked investors, businesses and consumers. Producers of jets, coffee, clothing, autos and packaged foods are among the many businesses scrambling to assess their operations as Trump's actions threaten international supply chains.
Even Tesla, owned by Trump adviser Elon Musk, argued in a letter to US trade officials that the trade war could make it a target for retaliatory tariffs against the US.
"As a US manufacturer and exporter, Tesla encourages USTR to consider the downstream impacts of certain proposed actions taken to address unfair trade practices," the electric automaker said in a letter dated Tuesday.
Some economists say the uncertainty threatens the health of the U.S. economy and raises the risk of recession. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday found that 70 per cent of Americans expect Trump's tariffs to make regular purchases more expensive.
Trump said his alcohol tariffs would help domestic producers. But US importers and distributors said it would lead to lost sales, layoffs and shuttered businesses.
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Products containing corrosive substances sold to minors by Gloucestershire shops
An undercover operation by Gloucestershire Trading Standards has found most shops in the county selling products containing corrosive substances to underage buyers.
In total, 10 stores were visited and eight made sales to underage volunteers.
The test purchases were carried out by Trading Standards, with the support of police cadets, in February. The volunteers visited stores across Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud, the Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury.
Eight different businesses sold a product containing corrosive substances to a young person under 18, without any checks on their age or requests for identification. The products sold included brick and patio cleaner, plughole unblocker and caustic soda drain unblocker.
Gloucestershire Trading Standards said it will be contacting the shops that failed the test to inform them of the sale and offer advice on their legal obligations. If these businesses do not heed this advice and evidence of selling to minors is found in the future, then Trading Standards have warned that more formal action could be taken which could include prosecution.
The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 makes it an offence to sell certain products which have a high percentage of corrosive chemicals to under 18s. Products which may have a high percentage of chemicals such as caustic soda, drain cleaners/unblockers and patio cleaners contain such chemicals, which can be dangerous if not used correctly.
“It’s disappointing to see that a number of retailers in the county have sold products containing corrosive substances to underage buyers,” Cllr Dave Norman, cabinet member for trading standards at Gloucestershire County Council, said.
“It’s important they seek advice and ensure that age-restricted goods are not sold to young people. Our Trading Standards team will be offering relevant advice to these businesses.”
If a business is unsure of their obligations, then they can find advice on the Trading Standards website.
Paul will join the NewstrAid team from 17 March and will take over from Tom Rodger, who is retiring at the end of the month.
“We are delighted to welcome Paul Bacon to the team. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the industry and will bring with him a wealth of knowledge to this important role,” said Neil Jagger, CEO for NewstrAid.
Paul most recently worked for Harmsworth Media as Key Account Manager at The i Paper and has previously worked in various sales and marketing roles for the Independent and The i Paper as well as working in distribution for wholesalers including Smiths News.
Neil Jagger added, “We are very sad to say goodbye to Tom Rodger and we know he will leave big shoes to fill, however I am confident that Paul will prove a great addition to the team and will continue the fantastic work that Tom has undertaken for the last six years.”
NewstrAid provides financial help, emotional support and practical advice to the UKs newstrade and in 2024 helped more than 1,500 industry colleagues who were facing challenging times.
Warnings have been issued against slush ice drinks by medical researchers, saying that poor transparency around slush ice drink glycerol concentration makes estimating a safe dose tricky.
Public health advice on the safe consumption of glycerol-containing slush ice drinks, also known as slushees, may need revising, stated medical researchers after carrying out a detailed review of the medical notes of 21 children who became acutely unwell shortly after drinking one of these products.
Brightly coloured slush ice drinks are designed to appeal to children, note the researchers. Slush machines are becoming a common fixture in convenience stores as retailers are increasingly recognising the potential for increased foot traffic and profits.
The findings, published in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, show that in each case the child became acutely unwell with a cluster of symptoms soon after drinking a slush ice drink, which the researchers refer to as glycerol intoxication syndrome.
The clinical and biochemical features were similar in all of these children and included reduced consciousness, a sudden sharp drop in blood sugar (hypoglycaemia), and a build-up of acid in the blood (metabolic acidosis).
Such symptoms, when they occur together, can indicate poisoning or inherited metabolic disorders, prompting further investigations.
While the ingredients vary, most of those available in the UK and Ireland are ‘no added sugar’ or ‘sugar free’ products and contain glycerol (E422, also known as glycerin), they add.
Glycerol stops the ice from fully freezing, so maintaining the slush effect in the absence of a high sugar content, they explain.
With a view to informing public health policy and guidance for parents, the researchers scrutinised the medical notes of 21 children who had become acutely unwell after consuming a slush ice drink and had initially been diagnosed with hypoglycaemia after their arrival in emergency care.
According to the study, 93 per cent of the children became ill within 60 minutes while one child had a seizure.
Twenty children had documented hypoglycaemia (blood glucose 2.6 mmol/l or below); but in 13 (65 per cent) this was even lower, indicating severe hypoglycaemia.
All the children recovered quickly after initial resuscitation and stabilisation of their blood glucose and were discharged with advice to avoid slush ice drinks.
Based on some of the cases in this series, the UK Food Standards Agency recommended that young children (4 and under) shouldn’t be given slush ice drinks containing glycerol, and that those aged 10 or younger should not have more than one.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) followed suit with similar guidance in 2024.
But the researchers believe that these recommendations may no longer be enough.
“There is poor transparency around slush ice drink glycerol concentration; estimating a safe dose is therefore not easy.
"It is also likely that speed and dose of ingestion, along with other aspects, such as whether the drink is consumed alongside a meal or during a fasting state, or consumed after high-intensity exercise, may be contributing factors,” they write.
“Food Standards Scotland and the FSAI suggested that 125 mg/kg of body weight per hour is the lowest dose that is associated with negative health effects.
"For a toddler this may equate to 50–220 ml of a slush ice drink. The standard size drink sold in the UK and Ireland is 500 ml,” they point out.
Given that these drinks don’t confer any nutritional or health benefits, “recommendations on their safe consumption therefore need to be weighted towards safety,” they suggest.
“To ensure safe population-level recommendations can be easily interpreted at the individual parental level, and given the variability across an age cohort of weight, we suggest that recommendations should be based on weight rather than age.
"Alternatively, the recommended age threshold may need to be higher (8 years), to ensure the dose per weight would not be exceeded, given normal population variation in weight," mentions the report.