Evening summary
Four weeks of disruption on the railways begin on Tuesday with the first 48-hour strike of the festive period, the day after it was revealed that the largest rail union voted to reject the latest offer.
Two major health unions in Scotland have called off strike action after narrowly voting for an upgraded pay offer following ministerial intervention.
Nurses’ strikes will go ahead this week after a meeting between the union and the health secretary ended in deadlock, with the Royal College of Nursing condemning ministers’ “belligerence” for refusing to discuss pay.
Britain has moved to dump the baggage of a Global Britain creating a network of liberty, in favour of building long partnerships with a modest number of countries, many of which will not share Britain’s democratic values.
Civil service graduates on the fast stream will consider strike action in an unprecedented move over frustration with low pay.
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, has urged Rishi Sunak and his UK government colleagues to follow her example and get involved in trying to resolve disputes with the public sector unions. (see: 17.05)
A “decade of neglect” by successive Conservative administrations has weakened the NHS to the point that it will not be able to tackle the 7 million-strong backlog of care, a government-commissioned report has concluded.
Fears are growing over the state of the UK economy as it emerged that the manufacturing sector shrank by about 4% this year and is forecast to decline by a further 3.2% in 2023.
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The current prolonged cold snap could prompt a sharp increase in excess deaths this winter as financial worries force vulnerable households to skimp on heating, charities have warned.
The End Fuel Poverty Coalition fears there will be fatal consequences of people economising on heating, as forecasters predict the UK will be hit by sub-zero temperatures for the rest of the week.
Simon Francis, the group’s coordinator said: “People are now literally choosing between heating and dying. We obviously understand the financial pain that everyone is going through, but you can recover from debt, you can’t recover from dying. If people don’t have their heating on, they will end up at the doors of the NHS or even worse.”
Each year there are on average about 10,000 excess deaths caused by cold and damp homes. Francis fears there will be a record increase in such deaths this year because so many are struggling to pay bills.
Read more: Excess deaths could rise as vulnerable skimp on heating, UK charities warn
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