Business and Economics

Dividends and interest worth £263 million were accrued by shareholders in 2017 alone, GMB Union figures show An investigation by GMB, the water union, has revealed United Utilities shareholders have made more than £1.2 billion in just five years. The privatised water company showered shareholders with a total of £263 million in 2017 alone. As millions in the North West face life under a hosepipe ban, GMB revealed United Utilities waste 400 million litres of water every single day through...

Jacob Rees-Mogg has suggested it could take 50 years to judge whether Brexit has been an economic success. The dire warning comes as the leading Brexiteer launched a second fund in Ireland. Somerset Capital Management (SCM), which ploughs millions of pounds into emerging markets, created the fund to meet demand from international investors. The UK’s withdrawal from the EU has forced many asset managers to set up replica product ranges in European investment hubs such as Dublin and Luxembourg in order to...

A coalition of environmental groups have warned that a no deal Brexit could have catastrophic consequences for the environment. Greener UK have published a paper that highlights the potential environmental problems that are likely to happen if the British government can not sign an agreement with the EU. The group, which includes WWF, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth have said that a No deal Brexit would make UK ‘dumping ground’ for chemicals banned in Europe. Shaun Spiers, chair of...

A new report out today has revealed Artificial Intelligence (AI) will create as many jobs as it displaces by boosting economic growth in the UK. In absolute terms, around 7 million existing jobs could be displaced, but around 7.2 million could be created, giving the UK a small net jobs boost of around 0.2 million. While the overall net effect of AI on UK jobs may be broadly neutral, this varies significantly across industry sectors. The most positive effect of AI is...

Local campaign launched to reflect 74% of the public that believe new Royal Auxillary ships should be built in Britain. The Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU), an amalgamation of 5 Trade Unions including GMB and Unite trade unions in the South West are calling on the government to ensure the next generation Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships are built in British shipyards, including local yards in the South West. The Fleet Solid Support (FSS) order is due to be...

By contrast, putting order out to international tender could cost shipbuilding jobs and prosperity, warns union GMB, the shipbuilding union, has revealed that the Ministry of Defence would not be liable to pay any compensation if Ministers changed their policy and kept a £1 billion order for up to three new military support ships in the UK. GMB research shows if the much-needed new Fleet Solid Support ships were built in British shipyards around 6,700 jobs would be created, and...

This Government needs to start thinking of the lives of Britain’s workers – and their families – rather than internal Tory party bickering. GMB, the union for Jaguar Land Rover workers, has responded to the company’s warning they may have to close factories in the wake of a ‘bad’ Brexit. The UK's biggest carmaker, owned by India's Tata Motors, said its "heart and soul is in the UK". But without frictionless trade JLR said its UK £80 billion investment plans...

The Government must urgently reconsider the rollout of Universal Credit (UC) and heed the growing warnings about the damage the policy has caused, IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) has said. The call follows an intervention by the National Audit Office (NAO), who highlighted a series of inaccuracies made in an address by Esther McVey, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Jordan Marshall, IPSE’s Policy Development Manager, commented: “It’s extremely concerning that the Government continues to assert...

Another major business has signalled their fears for a Brexit deal that does not favour the UK. This time it is Jaguar Land Rover who has voiced concerns over the outcome of the UK withdrawal from the EU. The company is the UK’s largest carmaker and claim a Brexit deal could threaten £80bn investment plans for the UK, and may close factories, putting thousands of jobs at risk. Last year, the company made more than 600,000 cars, 20% of which...