Demand has soared in past 12 months while total number of available properties fell by 9% Average private rents in Britain have soared to record highs, with severe shortages of properties resulting in more tenants paying above the asking price and stretched budgets forcing more people to downsize to studio flats, data shows. The average advertised rent in Greater London is 16.1% higher than a year ago, which is the highest rate of growth of

One in four adults either in financial trouble or at brink of difficulty, FCA survey finds Millions of people in the UK are struggling to pay their bills, according to the City watchdog, which said a growing proportion of the population is having trouble making ends meet. A survey by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) laid bare the impact of the cost of living crisis, saying about one in four (24%) of adults in the

As Starmer calls for general election, candidates scrabble to win nominations from at least 100 MPs to join race Liz Truss announced on Thursday she was quitting No 10 after a calamitous 45 days in office, triggering a Tory leadership contest, with Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Boris Johnson battling it out to become Britain’s next prime minister. At a lectern outside Downing Street during another tumultuous day, Truss admitted that she could not deliver

Weekly newspaper describes Britaly as ‘country of political instability, low growth and subordination to markets’ Italy’s ambassador to the UK has criticised the Economist for rehashing old stereotypes after featuring Liz Truss dressed as a centurion and holding a fork of spaghetti under the headline “Welcome to Britaly” on the cover of its latest edition, which focuses on Britain’s political mayhem. Truss, who resigned as prime minister on Thursday after just 45 days in office,

Threshold to reach ballot is support of 100 Tory MPs, however, and there are doubts he has sufficient backing Truss resigns – live news updates Boris Johnson is considering running again to be UK prime minister after Liz Truss’s dramatic resignation, with rightwing Conservative MPs and party donors already backing his nascent campaign. The former PM, who quit in disgrace in July following a series of scandals that left his personal integrity in tatters, was

Policy change means group’s stores will have no new fur products on shelves from next autumn The owner of House of Fraser, Flannels and Sports Direct has said it will stop buying fur products with immediate effect after lobbying from the Humane Society. Frasers Group said the change in policy meant it would no longer have new fur products on its shelves from next autumn. The company has not yet given a date from which

Litigants say millions of online consumers have paid too much and been denied choice A £900m class action claim against Amazon accuses the company of pushing customers towards “offers” that benefit the online retailer, but are not good deals for users. The complaint, which is to be filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, focuses on the company’s “Buy Box” feature, which artificially promotes certain items above the rest in response to user searches. Continue reading…