EXCLUSIVE Sneakily juggling two WFH jobs, enjoying Bare Minimum Mondays and taking time off for fake funerals. This is the shocking truth about how my generation are 'hacking' the workplace: LILY AMORY
In an era when twenty-somethings struggle to land jobs and often find it impossible to get on the housing ladder, 24-year-old Charlie is an anomaly. He has a thriving career, lives alone in a flat in central London, is repaying his student loan with ease and – much to the astonishment of his school and university peers – has a salary of over £80,000 a year.
Compared with his friends – who largely work in the charity sector, if they have jobs at all – Charlie is an extraordinary success story.
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Reuters
30 minutes ago
- Reuters
UK government to set out $3 trillion make-or-break spending plan
LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves will divvy up more than 2 trillion pounds ($2.7 trillion) of public money between her ministerial colleagues on Wednesday, making choices that will define what the year-old Labour government can achieve in the next four years. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Reeves will have to pick between the demands of the public health service - which absorbs around 40% of day-to-day departmental spending - increased defence commitments and other priorities including policing, energy infrastructure, transport and housing. "There are good things I have had to say no to," Reeves told reporters on Wednesday at an event to promote 16 billion pounds of regional public transport investment that will form part of next week's package. Labour has said that growth is its top priority and that its decisions led Britain to be the fastest-growing country in the Group of Seven in the first quarter of 2025. But the IMF expects UK growth to lag behind the United States and Canada in years to come and be only slightly faster than the euro zone. The review comes at a tricky time for the government, which won a sweeping parliamentary majority in July 2024 but has since seen its popularity slide, falling behind Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage's right-wing Reform Party in local council elections in England last month. Following that, citing improved public finances and growth, the government decided to at least partially restore heating subsidies for pensioners, which it removed from millions shortly after the election, damaging its popularity. Reeves set out the contours of next week's spending plans at her first budget in October, so there should be no big surprises for financial markets overall, although individual sectors may have winners and losers. "Unless Rachel Reeves comes out and says 'I am changing the spending envelope', the market should be broadly ambivalent," Deutsche Bank's chief UK economist, Sanjay Raja, said. Day-to-day spending on public services is due to rise by an average of 1.2% a year on top of inflation between 2026-27 and 2028-29, while capital budgets will increase by an average of 1.3% in real terms through to 2029-30, according to estimates from the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank. Both rates of growth are much slower than in the current financial year, when investment spending is set to jump by 11.6% and current spending rises by 2.5%. The spending increases are unlikely to be shared out equally. Capital-intensive plans to raise defence spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product, announced by Starmer in February, mean other departments will see no real-terms increase in the pace of investment after this year, the IFS estimates. For day-to-day spending, increasing the health budget by 2 percentage points more than the average - as was typical when Labour was last in power before 2010 - would mean real-terms cuts of 1% a year for other departments, the IFS said. The opposition Conservative Party said Reeves' spending since taking office was likely to increase debt interest costs by 80 billion pounds by the time of the next election in 2029. "We can expect her to trumpet all of the additional projects and programmes she is funding - without mentioning the fact it is all being paid for from borrowing," Conservative finance spokesperson Mel Stride said. Labour lawmakers with an interest in departments where spending might be squeezed are nervous. Florence Eshalomi, who chairs parliament's committee on housing and local government, has written to Reeves saying allocations in the spending review needed to match the government's ambitions to build 1.5 million homes by 2029, as set out in the manifesto it was elected to deliver. "We appreciate the many challenges, but this is a key mission for the government," Eshalomi told Reuters, adding government needed to "do something differently" to ease the housing crisis and couldn't rely solely on the private sector. Chris Curtis, who chairs a group of Labour parliamentarians focused on boosting economic growth, said the government could not focus solely on short-term problems. "Those demanding 'jam today' are ignoring the reality that without growth, public services and living standards will stagnate further. We've got to make tough choices now, or we'll soon be facing impossible ones," he said. Businesses and investors are also keen to see how Reeves makes her sums add up. Tax rises are not an option as Reeves has said she only intends to change tax policy once a year, and she has barely any room to borrow more without breaking what she has often said is an "ironclad" commitment to new fiscal rules. The review is "zero-based" meaning in principle some whole areas of public spending can be cut. In practice, savings are more likely through a mix of reducing the number of civil servants, squeezing public-sector pay or vaguer efficiency savings, said Raoul Ruparel, director of Boston Consulting Group's Centre for Growth. But if the spending plans imply some government departments will have to make efficiency gains on a scale not seen in recent years, then future tax rises become more likely. "It's a very difficult path to navigate," said Deutsche Bank's Raja, who expects Reeves will have to announce 10-15 billion pounds of tax rises in her next annual budget in the autumn. "Tax rises are inevitable," he said. ($1 = 0.7381 pounds)
Glasgow Times
30 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Manchester United confident of strengthening squad during transfer window
The club posted a pre-tax loss of £3.1million for the third quarter of the fiscal year in results published on Friday, way down on losses of £83.6m for the same period in the prior year. Total operating costs were down 20.4 per cent compared to the same quarter last year, driven by a reduction in the wage bill due to United's involvement in the Europa League instead of the Champions League, plus the January loan exits of the likes of Marcus Rashford and Antony. The reduction in costs was also attributable to the redundancy programme affecting non-playing staff, which began last year. Marcus Rashford's January loan exit to Aston Villa contributed to a reduced wage bill for the quarter for Manchester United (Martin Rickett/PA) Chief executive Omar Berrada admitted the club's 15th-place finish in the Premier League this season was 'below our standards' and said there was a 'clear expectation of improvement' next season. Changes in personnel seem certain to be required to achieve that and, while United insiders say the club intend to be disciplined about any investment they make this summer in order to remain compliant with the Premier League's profitability and sustainability rules (PSR), the reduction in operating costs alongside a 17.4 per cent increase in revenue does give them room for manoeuvre in the transfer market. The club are close to completing the £62.5m signing of Matheus Cunha from Wolves once his international duty is over and are also understood have a firm interest in Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo, with contact having been initiated with the London club. United posted a pre-tax loss of just under £36m for the nine months of the accounting period to date, significantly down on the loss of £89.2m at the same stage in the prior year. The club posted a pre-tax loss of £130.7m last year, raising concerns they might struggle to comply with PSR, where non-allowable losses must not exceed £105m over a three-year period. Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo is understood to be a player United are firmly interested in (Bradley Collyer/PA) However, the PA news agency understands the accounts of UK-based Red Football Limited are those primarily relied upon by the Premier League and UEFA when determining compliance with their respective financial rules, rather than the results of the plc. The pre-tax loss for Red Football in the year ended June 30, 2024 was £36.25m, over £94m less than the plc's losses. United were found to be compliant with PSR for the most recent assessment period up to June 30, 2024.
The Independent
34 minutes ago
- The Independent
National Lottery players warned ships will be unable to sell tickets for ‘one weekend'
The National Lottery is poised for a significant technology upgrade this summer which will see players unable to purchase tickets for 'one weekend.' Operator Allwyn, which assumed control of the lottery from Camelot in February of last year, has alerted retailers to an impending 36-hour shutdown of retail terminals. This comprehensive tech switchover, deemed necessary by the Czech-based group, will temporarily halt ticket sales at retail point-of-sale terminals. To mitigate disruption, Allwyn intends to initiate the upgrade around 11pm on a Saturday, capitalising on the National Lottery's overnight non-trading period and the absence of Sunday draw-based games. However, the exact date for the plans has not been revealed. Andria Vidler, UK chief executive at Allwyn, has assured retailers that the timing will "tie in best with our retail partners," appealing for their "help and diligence to enable a seamless transition". The upgrade, which has faced delays since Allwyn took over the licence, is expected to pave the way for the introduction of new draw-based games. It was unable to switch to a new technology provider after agreeing to extend the contract for the existing supplier, International Games Technology (IGT). IGT had challenged the Gambling Commission's decision to award Allwyn the 10-year licence in court, but later dropped the legal action. Allwyn has previously admitted that delays to the new games it had hoped to introduce in 2024 will hold back the amount of money it can give to good causes in the early part of its 10-year licence. But the group remained committed to its long-term goal to double money for good causes, despite falling short of early targets. Allwyn said: 'Allwyn is investing over £350 million into improving the operations and technology of The National Lottery. 'This change is critical – it will give us the springboard from which we can continue to improve the player and retailer experience and enable us deliver on our ambitious plans to double returns to Good Causes from £30 million to £60 million a week by the end of the licence.' The lottery licence handover has been hampered by intense legal wrangling since it was first announced. Camelot took action over the Gambling Commission's decision to award the licence to Allwyn, which was finally settled when Allwyn bought Camelot, although the two companies continued to operate separately ahead of the handover. Media tycoon Richard Desmond is also suing the Gambling Commission after missing out on the licence in what is set to culminate in a High Court showdown. Details of the tech upgrade come as Allwyn revealed UK earnings halved at the start of 2025 despite a sales boost from March's record EuroMillions jackpot and strong demand for online instant win games. It reported a 6% rise in UK gross gaming revenues to 1.02 billion euros (£860 million) – up 4% with currency movements stripped out. Sales by amounts staked lifted 3% on a constant currency basis as players took a punt on the EuroMillions rollover in March with its record-breaking 250 million euro (£211 million) jackpot. The latest EuroMillions on Friday night could also see a single ticket-holder win the biggest lottery prize the UK has ever seen if they match the numbers in the draw. The wider Allwyn group, which runs lotteries across Europe, saw underlying earnings rise 1% to 362.3 million euros (£305.7 million) in the three months to March 31.
