Portrait of the week: Eggs rationed, hosepipe ban lifted and Supreme Court rejects Scotland’s referendum bid

Home

The Supreme Court ruled that the Scottish government does not have the power to hold an independence referendum without the UK government’s consent. A meeting of NHS Scotland heard that ‘unscheduled care is going to fall over in the near term before planned care falls over’. One proposal was for rich people to pay; Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, repudiated the idea. Labour said that it would abolish the House of Lords and replace it with a ‘new, reformed upper chamber’. The Manston migrant processing centre, crowded during the summer with thousands who arrived in England on small boats, was cleared of people. The RMT union announced more rail strikes on 13, 14, 16 and 17 December and 3, 4, 6 and 7 January. After widespread flooding a hosepipe ban imposed in August was lifted for 15 million Thames Water customers. Supermarkets rationed eggs.

The Office for Budget Responsibility expected a 7.1 per cent fall in household income in the years 2022-24 in the wake of the autumn statement. The OBR predicted growth for 2022 to be 4.2 per cent; a decline in 2023 of 1.4 per cent; then growth of 1.3, 2.6 and 2.7 per cent in 2024, 2025 and 2026. The tax burden became the highest since 1948. Income tax personal allowances and the higher rate threshold would be frozen until April 2028. Energy charges would be allowed to rise more, with typical bills capped from April at £3,000 a year instead of £2,500. A windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas companies would rise from 25 per cent to 35 per cent and be extended until 2028.