United Kingdom

UK pay growth rose in November despite evidence of employers cutting jobs after Rachel Reeves’s tax-raising budget, underlining a dilemma for the Bank of England as it considers cutting interest rates next month.

With the government under pressure on the economy, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said annual growth in average weekly earnings rose by 5.6% in the three months to the end of November, up from 5.2% in the three months to October.

City economists had forecast total annual pay growth would accelerate. The reading matched estimates for total pay, but was marginally higher than expected for regular pay, excluding bonuses.

At the same time, the figures showed the UK unemployment rate for people aged 16 and over rose to 4.4% in the three months to November, up from 4.3% in the three months to October, highlighting some evidence of a cooling jobs market since the autumn budget.

Alex Sobel, Labour MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, and a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR), told PoliticsHome that forced labour continues to be a “very broad” issue across UK supply chains – particularly in the supply of cotton, manufactured goods, and commodities like cocoa, coffee and palm oil.

He said that the government should not sign trade agreements with countries that refuse to agree to human rights commitments.

"We're not going to raise human rights standards if we ignore it in trade," he said.

Starting next week, the JCHR – with members from both the Commons and the House of Lords – will start an inquiry to assess the effectiveness of the UK’s response to forced labour exploitation and its impact on UK supply chains.

“People are definitely becoming more aware of it,” Sobel said.

“Other jurisdictions, particularly the European Union, are legislating on it and the UK government as well is moving on this.”

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Sobel suggested that there has been a lack of political will in the last few years to refresh the legislation.

“On an issue like forced slavery, you need a prime minister or business secretary who are very committed and very interested in this area,” he said, pointing to former Tory prime minister Theresa May as the last example of a leader before Keir Starmer who was committed to the topic.

In Sobel’s view, the responsibility for preventing the sale of forced labour goods in the UK needs to lie with the government and businesses rather than with the consumer.

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/18107420

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The founder of British clothing brand All Saints has said he would be “horrified” if fast-fashion firm Shein is allowed to list in London, describing the Chinese-founded company as the “worst” offender in the sector.

“Fast fashion really has changed the whole industry, because it’s now like a race to the bottom… The planet cannot afford it,” Stuart Trevor, who founded All Saints in 1994, says.

With the average consumer purchasing double the amount of clothes as 15 years ago and keeping it for half as long, emissions from the industry have skyrocketed.

“Everybody’s got wardrobes full of clothes that they don’t wear,” Trevor said. “We’re never going to stop people from buying clothes, but it would be better if we could encourage people to create longer-lasting items of clothes.”

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The Singapore-based firm Shein is currently aiming for an initial public offering (IPO) in London, although the IPO is facing signifcant scrutiny from MPs and human rights groups.

Leigh Day, the lawyers for Stop Uyghur Genocide (SUG), delivered a dossier of evidence alleging supply chain abuses to Shein’s senior lawyer for EMEA, Yinan Zhu, prior to an appearance before MPs last week.

The dossier is said to show “clear, identifiable links between cotton production in the Uyghur region and forced labour”.

Shein was widely criticised for its responses to MPs’ questions, where it declined to answer questions over the company’s supply chain. The firm’s representative, Yinan Zhu, asked if she could write to the committee following the hearing.

“Their performance at that inquiry was quite shocking… but it was also a bit of a sigh of relief,” Trevor said. “Hopefully now [the listing] won’t happen.”

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Downing Street has refused to say whether new City Minister Emma Reynolds is able to make decisions about the UK's dealings with China.

Reynolds was appointed by Sir Keir Starmer after the resignation of Tulip Siddiq amid growing pressure over an anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh.

Questions have been raised about whether Reynolds has a conflict of interest, because she was a director of public affairs at a banking trade group involved in lobbying for fewer restrictions on Chinese businesses.

The prime minister's official spokesman repeatedly declined to say whether Reynolds' background meant she had to recuse herself, or step back, from decisions about China.

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The UK’s Labour Party is caught in the crosshairs of another controversy, as high-ranking politicians have come in support of Chinese “super embassy” plans, defying warnings from intelligence agencies and protests from residents.

In a recent development, British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Foreign Secretary David Lammy have indicated that they support China’s plan for building Europe’s largest-ever embassy in Tower Hamlets, east of London City in the UK. The embassy is planned to be built at the former Royal Mint, which was bought by China seven years ago.

The local authorities have repeatedly rejected the plan based on various concerns. For instance, the residents have been protesting the Chinese ‘super embassy’ plans based on concerns that it could lead to security risks and spying attempts.

Moreover, the British intelligence agency, M15, has also warned that the building would be extremely close to crucial communication cables, which could be compromised or attacked by the Chinese in a potential espionage attempt.

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There has been a surprise contraction in retail sales in December, despite the month being key for many retailers due to Christmas shopping, official figures show.

Retail sales fell 0.3% last month, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

No drop at all was expected, not least a 0.3% drop. Sales growth of 0.4% had been forecast by economists.

The figures are of significance as they measure household consumption, the largest expenditure across the UK economy.

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The December drop is due to a "very poor" month for food sales, which sank to the lowest level since 2013, hurting supermarkets in particular, the ONS said.

The data is in contrast to reports from supermarkets themselves, which reported stellar Christmas trading. It suggests that small shops suffered the brunt of the decline.

The Old Bailey heard the victim, who was aged 18 at the time, had been under the impression she was attending a roller disco with friends at Harrow Leisure Centre on 10 February last year.

Prosecutors said she was attacked during a 45-second pre-planned assault as revenge for performing a sex act on one of the teenagers who had not realised she was transgender.

Sentencing the group on Thursday Judge Philip Katz KC said the ambush was "vicious" and had "elements of transphobia and revenge".

Summer Betts-Ramsey, 20, of Barnet; Bradley Harris, 18, of Harrow; Shiloh Hindes, 18, of Peckham; Camron Osei, 18, of Tadworth and a 17-year-old boy who cannot be named due to legal reasons, each pleaded guilty causing GBH with intent.

Sampling results show ‘extremely concerning’ concentrations of PFOS and PFOA at sites across UK