Two very different reports have reignited UK economic gloom over the past four days. Friday’s economic figures showed a further monthly dip in UK growth, or GDP, in May. Earlier this week the official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), said Britain faced “daunting” risks, including the possibility that levels of government debt could soar to three times the size of the economy. Two very different timescales – the economy in a single month, and the public finances in half a century’s time. At another moment both might have been largely ignored. Monthly GDP figures are notoriously volatile, and…
Author: dmnews
As the world races to cut carbon emissions in the fight against climate change, a potentially game-changing milestone may have been reached. China – currently responsible for some 30% of global emissions – saw its emissions decline in the 12 months up to May 2025. Crucially, this would be the first time emissions have fallen even as demand for power across the Chinese economy grew rapidly. Previous drops have only ever taken place during shocks like the Covid pandemic, which slowed the country’s economy. Given the outsized role the country – home to more than a billion people – has…
Deadly storms over the 4 July holiday ravaged Texas’ Hill Country with several months’ worth of rain in a few hours, leaving behind mangled trees, swaths of deep mud and heartbreak over hundreds lost or missing. They also renewed focus on the US government’s ability to warn and protect residents from weather catastrophes. The intense rainfall and flash floods are the deadliest weather disaster in the US since President Donald Trump’s administration conducted mass staff cuts at two key weather and climate agencies: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organisation (NOAA) and its subsidiary, the National Weather Service (NWS). While experts say the National Weather Service…
Britain’s biggest housebuilders have agreed to pay £100m towards affordable homes to avoid a regulator’s decision on whether they broke competition law. The seven firms have also agreed not to share commercially sensitive information such as how much houses have sold for “except in limited circumstances”. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last year began investigating whether housebuilders had been swapping information, such as pricing and the incentives offered to buyers such as upgraded kitchens or stamp duty contributions. The majority of the housebuilders said they welcomed the CMA’s decision, adding that the £100m payment is not an admission of…
School children are getting less meat, cheaper ingredients and smaller portions in their lunches as caterers battle rising costs, the new chair of a school food organisation has said. Michael Hales, incoming chair of LACA, said schools were increasingly having to bridge the gap between government funding for free school meals and the rising cost of delivering dinner for all of their pupils. It comes after the government said it would expand free school meals, which Mr Hales said was “welcome”, but added that more funding would be “essential”. The Department for Education (DfE) said the “fully funded” expansion of…
LONDON — For years, clinical professor Maureen Watkins had taught what the textbook said when it came to explaining the U.K. health model to her students on the administrative health care course. But she decided that, in order to test the theory, there really was no better way to understand and teach it than to become immersed in the country itself. So the board-certified clinical specialist in orthopedic physical therapy decided to set up a Dialogues of Civilizations course in London. “Health care and culture in the United Kingdom,” now in its second year, gives Northeastern University students enrolled in…
Three hundred years since they first appeared, the capital’s traditional members-only gentlemen’s clubs – still frequented by royalty and power brokers – have endured and evolved. As controversy continues around The Garrick permitting women members, a new book explores this peculiarly British phenomenon. For more than three centuries, London has been the global centre of private members’ clubs. In no other place have so many of these secretive sanctuaries come and gone, and today, with a total of 133 operating, the British capital still outstrips its closest rival, New York City, which hosts a mere 53 clubs. Many of the…
EXCLUSIVE: British culture secretary Lisa Nandy’s repeated attacks on BBC boss Tim Davie have sparked concern about the national broadcaster’s independence, with a Deadline analysis revealing the frequency of her interventions when compared with Conservative predecessors. Nandy, who was appointed culture secretary by Prime Minister Keir Starmer last July, has savaged the BBC over editorial failings related to the Israel-Hamas conflict, including the controversial Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone film and live-streaming Glastonbury act Bob Vylan chanting “death to the IDF.” It is highly unusual for a culture secretary to voice discontent about the BBC director-general so publicly and unambiguously. Although many will agree with Nandy’s…
A former teacher who was jailed for bringing the M25 to a standstill said she was sorry for holding people up but “it was the right thing to do”. Louise Lancaster from Grantchester, Cambridgeshire, was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to cause public nuisance in July 2024, one of Britain’s longest ever sentences for peaceful protest. The 59-year-old joined the Just Stop Oil protest in 2022, which prosecutors said cost the police more than £1m and caused about 50,000 hours of delays to motorists. Lancaster, who had her sentence reduced on appeal and is now out…
Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) has urged people to record five key species in the county. The organisation wants residents to look out for a mammal, bird, reptile, plant and insect that it said typify Surrey’s wildlife. SWT said its Five2Find app could be used to log “once common” species, including swifts, slowworms, peacock butterflies, bats and the oxeye daisy. “Unless more people learn to see, appreciate and protect the riches on their doorstep, we risk losing our natural heritage without even noticing,” said SWT’s community programme manager Claire Harris. “The long-term consequences of nature’s decline could be catastrophic for all…