BIZARRE: 23 - What They Never Told You

Fertility rate for England and Wales falls to new record low

For a country’s population to remain stable, discounting any impact from migration, the total fertility rate needs to be around 2.1.

Evening Standard · Aug 27, 2025

UK residents spend almost three times more on trips abroad than inbound visitors

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that people from the UK made a record 94.6 million visits overseas in 2024.

Evening Standard · Aug 26, 2025

UK gender pay gap underestimated for two decades, report says

Findings suggest since 2004 ONS failed to properly account for fact it received more data from larger employers

The Guardian - UK · Aug 25, 2025

Rachel Reeves warned against cutting tax-free pension lump sum as she seeks to raise billions

Currently, pensioners can take out a quarter of their pension pot tax-free, with a cap of £268,000 – but that could change as Reeves attempts to claw back billions

The Independent UK · Aug 21, 2025

Action to tackle number of asylum seekers coming to UK is important step to ‘restoring order’, says Cooper – as it happened

Home secretary responds to statistics showing rise in number of people housed in hotels in UK, saying Labour has overseen increased numbers of returns of asylum seekers

The Guardian - UK · Aug 21, 2025

Government borrowing less than expected in July in boost for Reeves

The Office for National Statistics said the borrowing of £1.1 billion is the lowest July figure for three years.

Evening Standard · Aug 21, 2025

FTSE 100 Live 21 August: WH Smith error hits shares, Hays slashes dividend

An accounting error at WH Smith and dividend reset by Hays today put their midcap shares in the spotlight during another record session for the FTSE 100 index.

Evening Standard · Aug 21, 2025

Strongest rise in UK business activity in a year while hiring falls; WH Smith shares crash 40% on accounting error –as it happened

Government borrowing falls to £1.1bn in July as tax receipts rise, but chancellor remains under pressure

The Guardian - UK · Aug 21, 2025

UK borrowed less than expected in July in lift for Rachel Reeves

Public sector net borrowing falls to £1.1bn as chancellor explores tax-raising options in autumn budget

The Guardian - UK · Aug 21, 2025

FTSE 100 at new peak despite fading rate cut hope

The FTSE 100 index closed up 98.92 points at 9,288.14.

Evening Standard · Aug 20, 2025