cost-of-living
26 stories
Economy Bills hit £1,723 as energy secretary claims she’s powerless over war
Ofgem's 4% price cap rise pushes bills to £1,723 as the energy secretary calls the war 'impossible to control', Britain…
Economy Energy price cap rises to £1,723
Ofgem's 4% cap rise pushes typical bills to £1,723 as arrears head for £7bn and Labour's £300 pledge quietly dies.
UK Insolvency law blocks Thames Water takeover
Thames Water customers face bills up to 44% higher while an insolvency law loophole, not political will, keeps the…
UK Burnham hands Ukraine missile tech on £3bn war bill
Burnham's first trip abroad hands MBDA a bigger Ukraine order book, on top of a war bill already running at £3bn a year.
Economy Average Rent hits record £1,393
Average rents hit a record £1,393 a month as Jeremy Corbyn's Your Party demands a freeze and statutory rent controls.
Economy Ofwat hikes bills amid hosepipe bans
Ofwat approved £3.4bn in fresh water bill hikes the same week 27 million people were put under hosepipe bans.
Economy Households pay £221 for war fought from UK bases
A war Britain helped wage from its own air bases has added £221 to household energy bills, and this week's growth…
Economy Bills rise again to cover energy bosses’ £6bn windfall
Energy firms banked over £6bn in war windfall profits this year, more than £200 a household, days before Ofgem's next…
Economy New students face £56,240 lifetime loan bill
This week's A-level cohort signs up to Plan 5, Britain's harshest student loan terms, as the state's share of graduate…
Economy Neso can now black out homes
A grid code change gives Neso power to order emergency power cuts across Britain with eight hours' warning, as data…
UK Unions demand Burnham revoke Iran bombing base access
Ten union leaders representing 2.3 million workers have told Andy Burnham to pull UK bases out of the US bombing…
UK 27 million now under hosepipe bans
Drought has spread to nine of England's 14 water regions, and farmers say the country's food supply is now exposed.
UK Burnham scraps digital ID scheme to cut energy bills
Andy Burnham used his first two days as PM to cut VAT on electricity bills and pledge £340m to end rough sleeping.
Economy Thames Water applies for fresh bill rise
Thames Water has asked Ofwat for another bill rise the same week its hedge fund creditors hired lawyers to fight Andy…
UK Hedge funds threaten to sue Britain over Thames Water
Hedge funds that loaded Thames Water with £21bn of debt are lawyering up to stop Burnham nationalising it, as 16…
Economy Billpayers pick up tab for Thames Water shareholders’ gamble
Hedge funds owning Thames Water's debt are manoeuvring to dodge special administration, leaving 16 million billpayers…
UK Fourteen dead from RAF-joined Iran strikes
Cooper told MPs the RAF flew 115 combat missions in Iran as the ceasefire collapsed and British food prices climbed.
World EU chooses drones over heating
Brussels waived its own China rules to fund Ukraine's drone war as tens of millions of Europeans can't afford to heat…
Economy Households paid for operator’s alleged cover-up
Households paid the price for June's near-blackout while, a whistleblower says, grid bosses ordered staff to leave no…
Middle East Iranian fishermen killed as Trump tears up Iran ceasefire
Iranian fishermen were killed as Washington tore up its ceasefire, and the Hormuz standoff triggered by the escalation…
World 13.5m households freeze amid record EU gas imports
EU governments paid Russia roughly €6bn for record Yamal gas imports as 13.5 million UK households fall into fuel…
Economy Sixteen million face higher bills in Thames Water bailout, MPs warn
MPs demand Thames Water go into special administration, warning a hedge-fund bailout would raise bills while sparing…
Economy Fuel surge; adviser backs Miliband
Households face the sharpest fuel-price rise since 2022 as Burnham inherits a £4.7bn defence gap, and his own Treasury…
United States Trump’s $1.4bn crypto haul built on supporters’ $3.8bn losses
A machinist lost $32,700 and a saver lost her $2,000 on Trump's meme coin. The president who sold it to them made…