Tom Rees

UK employers shed more workers in July and job vacancies hit a fresh five-year low as demand for staff remained tepid in the face of heightened uncertainty from events at home and abroad.

The UK Treasury would be as much as £32 billion ($43.3 billion) better off each year if Britain’s government-run health service had kept pace with its pre-pandemic productivity gains, according to analysis of official figures.

UK house prices fell for the first time this year, according to official data that showed a property market malaise spreading after the Iran war pushed up mortgage costs.

Britain’s private sector expanded at the fastest pace in four months, as sunny weather and a strong service sector prompted households and businesses to turn on the spending taps.

Andy Burnham has tried to instill positivity into a downbeat British public during his first month as prime minister, with some success. Labour’s fortune in opinion polls has begun to turn around and there are even signs of good vibes reaching the economy.

Inflation fears among UK households jumped again in August, a resurgence that will worry Bank of England officials amid little sign of a resolution to the US-Iran conflict.

Pointing to a chasm between the British and American economies, a report drawn up for Andy Burnham’s leadership bid warned: “We have a productivity problem.” The country needed to be more efficient for the sake of prosperity and well-paying jobs, it said.

POINTING to a chasm between the British and American economies, a report drawn up for Andy Burnham's leadership bid warned: “We have a productivity problem.” The country needed to be more efficient for the sake of prosperity and well-paying jobs, it said.

It is said that Brits can often see four seasons in one day, with surveys showing the UK weather as the main reason for booking a holiday abroad.

As thousands of teenagers prepare for their first day of higher education, the universities of Greenwich and Kent in southern England are taking their own step into the unknown.