🗞️ So what happened last week?

🧊 The economy gives the government the cold shoulder

🏙️ New homes are coming but does that mean city sprawl comes with it?

As we head into the full swing of the festive period someone isn’t excited, and it’s the UK economy. Official figures have shown that for the second month in a row, the UK economy has shrunk. Given hiring has dropped to pandemic levels, it’s not the optimistic milk and cookies by the fireplace the government wanted.

We’ve been facing a lot of headwinds, from Brexit and a pandemic to high interest rates. Whilst the current outlook is a gloomy one, there is cause for sunshine on the horizon as we move into next year.

There are some big bets being made on increasing opportunities - even opening the doors back up with the EU. Plus, the Bank of England (BoE) is meeting one last time this year on the 18th to review the rates. It’s taking a while to shift gears but I’m looking forward to 2025 and seeing some reinvigorated business confidence.

Just 2 weeks ago, we shared that retailers have already warned about job cuts. And before that, we wrote that the Post Office is also cutting jobs. Even the gov’t is cutting more than 10,000 civil service jobs, while the Police have also warned of headcount reductions, just as we need them the most.

I understand the rationale behind the latest Budget, but it’s showing to be a very risky gamble. It will take a long time to see any “fruits of this Labour.” Looking ahead to 2025, inflation is showing to be “unhelpfully sticky” due to the Budget. The BoE has already indicated that interest rates will be kept higher, as a result.

So buckle up! We’re in for a bumpy ride.

In what has been described as a radical turn, the government has relaxed the rules around building new homes in the UK. The new 82 page policy document also sets out mandatory council targets, making this a local problem to solve.

It’s a bold move to encourage existing property developers to get building in the UK and meet the promise of 1.5 million new homes. To put that in perspective, the last time the UK built 300,000 homes in a single year was 1970. This plan requires 370,000 homes built per year for the next 5 years. “Our plan for change will put builders not blockers first“ said the PM.

The most controversial part of the policy is a softening around the Green Belt - protected green land in the home counties which limits the urban sprawl of London. Everyone wants more homes, but no one wants them built where they live. It’s a bold move to deliver some immediate and short term results.

Alister, if the Tories had come up with this plan, you’d be up in arms about this. I’m not tied to a particular party, but allowing to build in the Green Belt seems to be like putting a Band-aid (aka plaster) on the problem.

There are thousands of new and existing affordable homes sitting empty or unfinished because housing associations don’t have the resources to manage them. The 82-pg document has also watered down its 50% affordable housing target in the Green Belt with ambiguous phrasing.

And while the policy doc indicates brown fields to be prioritised, by giving property developers an inch within the Green Belt, they’re going to take a mile (and more). Either way, with a shortage of construction workers, I guess we’ll see what happens!

🇬🇧 No squabble required

🏤 “Sorry We Missed You” Royal Mail has received a £10.5m fine for failing to meet delivery promises for first and second class post. This is double last year’s fine, which was for the same thing… Hope you already got your Christmas presents!

🛏️ Puberty Blockers Banned for Under-18s. These were previously banned via emergency measures, but now an indefinite ban is official, until a study they’ve committed to proves it’s safe. For now, no new puberty blocking medication will be prescribed to any new patients under 18.

👑 In the hot seat again! Prince Andrew can’t seem to stay out of the press - from ties with Epstein to being financially cut-off by the King… and now, it seems a businessman in his close circle is an alleged Chinese spy. How do you say 007 in Chinese?

🌎️ The rest of the world… according to us

🍊 Time Person of The Year. Time Magazine has announced US President Elect, Donald Trump, as its person of the year. It’s given to the individual who has had the most influence on the year’s events - good or bad. With his promise to remove birthright citizenship in the US, he seems to be eyeing next year’s award too.

🪖 Wartime for Nato. In response to Russia’s economic focus on war, the Secretary General is recommending Nato starts to prepare for it in order to prevent it. With global politics heating up and economies feeling the pressure, it’s no surprise to hear louder cries to limit wide scale conflict.

🇰🇷 Impeachment: Take Two. After a speech inciting more anger than peace, South Korean President Yoon was finally impeached in the National Assembly’s 2nd attempt. If the courts agree, then he’ll be removed from office. There is also talk of treason, which is a serious accusation, as the punishment is death.

🇫🇷 Bien joué! French President Macron finally picked a new Prime Minister - François Bayrou. With more centrist leanings, Macron is hoping Bayrou can bridge both left and right sides to fix the country’s budget woes.

💀 What’s More Stressful Than Work? Being Fired. Jaws dropped after hearing that YesMadam, an Indian salon services company, supposedly fired employees who admitted to being stressed in its wellbeing survey - according to a leaked email. This later turned out to be a PR stunt (to highlight workplace stress) made in extremely poor taste.

🍎 Healthier habits, happier you

💊 Bowel Cancer Rates Rising. Alarmingly a ten year study over 50 countries has found that bowel cancer rates are increasing, especially among younger people, with the UK being one of the highest. While the cause is unknown, many are pointing to highly processed foods as the culprit.

☕️ Wake Up To More Expensive Coffee. The worlds most popular bean variety, the arabica bean, has suffered a bad global harvest. Poor weather is to blame. Don’t worry though. Nestle, the world’s biggest coffee maker has stated that it will continue raising prices and making the packs smaller. 🙃 

🧦 The odd sock

♟️ Checkmate! The youngest ever champion has just been crowned, Gukesh Dommaraju from India won to become the first 18 year old to hold the title. It’s no surprise given he attained the status of chess grandmaster at the age of 12!

🪩 Staying Alive Another Two Years? Abba Voyage, the hologram experience in London which recreates a live Abba concert, has supposedly contributed £1.4bn to the local economy! While the agreement means we get two more years, the success has raised eyebrows about becoming a permeant fixture.

⭐️ Recommendations by Alister

As an uncle, I feel the pressure to not only get incredible gifts, but to also maximise the annoyance level of my sibling (or friends). It’s a tough balance to strike, a drum set would be a no, but a Frozen song book with a recorder just might get the initial nod of approval, but wreak auditory havoc later. 😈 (Meridyth: Don’t you dare. Please tell me that’s not what you got for my kid!!!)

Usually my first stop is Wicked Uncle, a UK based online store that focuses on kids toys. It has some helpful age filters, as well as letting you know what’s “hip” and “trendy”.

So if you’re still looking for a last minute gift and want to be the cool Aunt, Uncle, Parent, or Friend of the Family, it’s worth a shot. They can still make a Christmas delivery too!

🤣 What do you meme? 

What’s the worst part of Christmas dinner?

It’s not the controversial opinions. It’s not asking when are you getting married or when are you having kids. It’s not even if you’ll return the shirt you “borrowed” six years ago. So what’s the worst? It’s dealing with brussels sprouts. (Meridyth: But I love roasted sprouts! You’re such a grinch.)

Yet, brussels sprouts continue to sell and appear on plates across the nation. In an effort to get sensible individuals to switch their brains off and believe this vegetable is worth eating, they’ve started bribing the media.

Though, I’m not sure this is going to make me excited to see brussels sprouts again…

Good luck dealing with those sexy brussels sprouts tempting you. 🙏 

Whew, you made it!

With winter colds abound and we’ve both suffered our fair share of viruses, we hope you stay healthy and join us again next week for another squabble!

Alister & Meridyth