Rishi Sunak

Government data confirms Brexit as a main driver of exports decline

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/08/government-data-confirms-brexit-as-a-main-driver-of-exports-decline/

More than a third of businesses say their prospects for growth in 2023 have been hampered by a decline in demand for British goods because of Brexit.

A government-led survey, which collected information from over 3,000 businesses throughout the year, has confirmed that Brexit is a key reason for a decline in trade among British exporters.

The data shows that 43 percent of exporters of services and goods say they saw a decline in trade in 2022. This compared to just 26 percent of businesses who said their exports had increased. The reason most frequently cited behind the drop in trade in recent months is Britain’s departure from the EU.

In January 2021, the EU introduced strict border controls on all food exports from the UK, as part of the Brexit trade agreements with Europe. Consequently, many businesses halted trade with the EU due to the increased costs that came with the new border rules.

Red tape, including additional documentation, admin burdens and new customs procedures, as well as reduced demand for UK services and products, were among the most prominent concerns in relation to the impact Brexit has had on exports among some companies.

The data shows that more than a third of businesses say their prospects for growth in 2023 have been hampered by a decline in demand for British goods because of Brexit.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/08/government-data-confirms-brexit-as-a-main-driver-of-exports-decline/

Continue ReadingGovernment data confirms Brexit as a main driver of exports decline

Morning Star: Building unity against the Westminster consensus on the NHS

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NHS sign

JUNIOR doctors walking out for a fifth time this weekend are blamed by Tory ministers for the NHS’s record-breaking waiting lists.

Their pay restoration demands are billed as greedy, though the case they make is straightforward, as the British Medical Association’s junior doctors committee co-chair Dr Robert Laurenson points out: “Over the last 15 years, the government has cut our pay by 31.7 per cent so we’re looking to restore that pay back to what it was like in 2008.”

Rishi Sunak declines even to discuss this — maintaining that the current offer is “fair and final,” on the grounds it has been recommended by an “independent” (by which he means government-appointed) pay review body.

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Labour backs the Tory policy for reducing waiting lists, which is to increase NHS use of private-sector providers.

This cannot possibly work, since the private sector is parasitical on the NHS and poaches NHS staff. Commissioning more private-sector work actively worsens the NHS staffing crisis.

Our demand ultimately needs to be for more resources for the NHS. It needs more staff, it needs to pay them more and it needs to treat them better.

The Westminster consensus against raising spending needs to be challenged. It’s therefore disappointing that Scottish Labour simply carped at the Scottish National Party after research it commissioned exposed the huge funding gap between the NHS and European healthcare systems — with Germany and Norway spending a full third more per head on healthcare than we do.

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Sunak failing to keep five key promises he made when appointed Prime Minister

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UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Grant Shapps.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Grant Shapps. Credit: Simon Dawson / 10 Downing Street, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/sunak-failing-to-keep-five-key-promises-he-made-when-appointed-prime-minister

RISHI SUNAK’S five key promises, made shortly after becoming Prime Minister in January, have turned into five failures according to figures showing ministers’ lack of progress since then.

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Taking his pledges in turn, inflation remains the highest in the G7 –with RPI still at an eye-watering 10.7 per cent in June.

NHS waiting lists in England this week hit a new record high of 7.6 million.

And Britain’s debt pile was bigger than its economic output in June – the first time this has happened in more than 60 years.

Today’s 0.2 per cent growth in Q2 GDP was hailed as an unexpected win for Britain’s spluttering economy, which the Bank of England says will remain sluggish for years to come.

And dangerous refugee crossings not only set a new record for the month of June, but fresh arrivals on Thursday saw the total number of people risking their lives to cross the English Channel on small boats reach 100,000 for the first time since 2018.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/sunak-failing-to-keep-five-key-promises-he-made-when-appointed-prime-minister

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Rishi Sunak most frequent UK flyer amoung recent PMs

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-66434605

Rishi Sunak was pictured boarding a Dassault Falcon 900LX before a trip to Leeds this year

Rishi Sunak has used RAF jets and helicopters for domestic flights more frequently than the UK’s previous three prime ministers, the BBC can reveal.

Ministry of Defence data show he took almost one such flight a week during his first seven months in office.

The prime minister has been accused of hypocrisy for flying short journeys domestically, given his pledges to curb planet-warming carbon emissions.

But Mr Sunak has said air travel was the “most effective use of my time”.

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In total, Mr Sunak boarded 23 domestic flights on these aircraft in 187 days, which is one every eight days on average.

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Rishi Sunak takes taxpayer-funded flight inside UK every eight days

Greenpeace claimed Mr Sunak will “go down in history” as failing on climate change, amid fresh concern about the Tory leader’s frequent use of high-polluting travel and approach to net zero.

Rish! ‘Biggles’ Sunak: The most effective use of your time is to make a phone call or a video conference call instead of destroying the planet like the uncaring, planet-trashing cnut we all know that you are.

Continue ReadingRishi Sunak most frequent UK flyer amoung recent PMs

Six water companies to face legal action over alleged underreporting of pollution incidents

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/six-water-companies-to-face-legal-action-over-alleged-underreporting-of-pollution-incidents

Members of the public and campaigners from Hastings and St Leonards Clean Water Action, protest against raw sewage release incidents on the beach in St Leonards, Sussex, August 26, 2022

SIX private water companies across England are facing landmark legal action over allegations of under-reporting pollution incidents and overcharging customers.

Severn Trent Water, Thames Water, United Utilities, Anglian Water, Yorkshire Water and Northumbrian Water could end up forking out more than £800 million in compensation to over 20 million customers if the cases are successful.

Environmental and water consultant Professor Carolyn Roberts, who is being represented by Leigh Day Solicitors, claimed that the firms have broken competition laws by misleading the Environment Agency and regulator Ofwat.

She alleges they have been under-reporting the number of sewage discharges, resulting in customers being “unfairly overcharged” for wastewater services, and that had sewage discharge reporting been accurate it would have lowered customer bills.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/six-water-companies-to-face-legal-action-over-alleged-underreporting-of-pollution-incidents

Continue ReadingSix water companies to face legal action over alleged underreporting of pollution incidents