(Sharecast News) - British households are facing a renewed cost‑of‑living squeeze, with inflation expected to jump in July as soaring energy bills feed through into official data. Economists told The Guardian they expect the headline rate to rise to around 2.9%, up from 2.6% in June, driven by sharp increases in gas and electricity costs linked to the Iran conflict's impact on global energy markets.
The figures, due from the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday, come as the Bank of England weighs whether to raise interest rates as early as September amid concerns that stubborn inflation could become entrenched.
More than 100 homes across the royal estates of King Charles and Prince William fail to meet the legal minimum energy‑efficiency standards for landlords, according to an investigation by The Guardian.
A review of properties let by the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall and the Sandringham estate found that around one in five carried Energy Performance Certificate ratings of F or G. Since 2020, landlords have been barred from renting homes below an E rating unless formally exempt, but most failing royal properties had no exemption listed.
The report said some royal estates appeared to be exploiting gaps in the regulations to continue letting sub‑standard homes, a finding likely to prove embarrassing for Charles and William given their public environmental commitments.
A Reform UK government would deliver what it calls the biggest welfare overhaul "in a generation", scrapping key benefits to save £50bn a year, according to treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick. Writing in The Telegraph, Jenrick said the current system amounted to "suicidal empathy" and failed to support those it was designed to help.
Under the plans, personal independence payments and the health element of Universal Credit for working‑age adults would be abolished, affecting almost 2.9m people. PIP would be replaced with a new health security allowance for those with severe and enduring disabilities, while other claimants would receive services through council‑run disability support accounts.
Employers would also be required to fund a new insurance scheme, "Return to Work Cover", to pay for the first two years of sickness‑related absence.
Water companies may be allowed to introduce higher prices during droughts under plans being considered by Ofwat, The Telegraph reported. The regulator is examining proposals for "surge pricing" that would allow suppliers to factor "water scarcity" into bills and vary charges by season or usage thresholds.
Most schemes would require households to have smart meters. The proposals come days after three‑quarters of the UK was declared in drought, with 27m people under hosepipe bans and wildfires affecting large areas. If approved, the new pricing framework would take effect from April.
JCB heir Jo Bamford has backed Andy Burnham to revive Britain's manufacturing sector, telling The Times he plans to invest £100m and create 2,500 jobs across northern England. Bamford said he wanted to replicate the success of his Wrightbus factory in Ballymena by building a similar plant in the North West.
He criticised London mayor Sadiq Khan for ordering large numbers of buses from China rather than UK manufacturers, arguing the decision undermined Burnham's efforts to support domestic industry. Wrightbus, which Bamford rescued from insolvency in 2019, now employs around 2,500 people - roughly one in ten residents of Ballymena.
Bamford urged Burnham to commit to a major British bus‑building programme, saying he would follow through with plans for a new factory if such support were secured.
Heathrow has slashed planned spending on noise‑reduction measures linked to its proposed third runway, cutting the budget from £241m to £52m, according to evidence submitted to MPs and reported by The Times.
The original plan would have funded double glazing, loft insulation and noise‑mitigation walls for around 6,500 homes. The airport blamed the Civil Aviation Authority for forcing the reduction, though it insisted a ban on night flights would be "enhanced" rather than weakened.
London mayor Sadiq Khan has warned that night flights could double if the runway goes ahead. A submission from the Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group said residents could face waits of more than a century for noise protection under the revised plans.