Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

UK rail workers announce July 27 strike in pay row

Transport Minister Grant Shapps criticised the union for rejecting the pay offer.

UK rail workers announce July 27 strike in pay row

British rail workers and station staff will strike this month in disputes over pay and conditions, two unions said, announcing the latest in a growing catalogue of industrial unrest as workers demand wage rises to cope with soaring inflation.

The 24-hour walkout by members of the RMT and TSSA will take place on July 27, the unions said on Wednesday, leaving travellers facing further disruption during the school holidays after tens of thousands of striking workers brought Britain's rail network close to a standstill last month.


The RMT said Network Rail, the owner and infrastructure manager of most of the rail network in Britain, had made an offer of 4%, followed by a possible 4% the following year dependent on staff accepting changes to their contracts.

Inflation in Britain is due expected to rise above 10% later this year but the government has urged businesses to exercise restraint in pay settlements to avoid fuelling what it says would be an inflationary spiral.

"The offer from Network Rail represents a real terms pay cut for our members and the paltry sum is conditional on RMT members agreeing to drastic changes in their working lives," general secretary Mick Lynch said in a statement.

"Strike action is the only course open to us to make both the rail industry and government understand that this dispute will continue for as long as it takes."

Transport Minister Grant Shapps criticised the union for rejecting the pay offer, saying in a statement that RMT was "hellbent on causing further misery for people across the country".

The TSSA said its members in station roles at Avanti West Coast - the west coast mainline operator of routes, including London to Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow - would strike on the same day to coincide with the RMT action.

Separately, the TSSA said 700 of its members working for other rail operators had voted in favour of industrial action, but dates had not yet been set.

Earlier this week, other groups of British rail and transport workers also voted in favour of strike action. Read full story

Staff at airlines and airports have also taken action or are planning walk-outs

(Reuters)

More For You

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

FILE PHOTO: Keir Starmer (L) with Narendra Modi. (Photo: Getty Images)

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

INDIA's prime minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to the UK by the end of this month for a visit that could see both sides formally sign the landmark India-UK free trade agreement and explore ways to expand bilateral ties in the defence and security sphere, diplomatic sources said.

Both sides are in the process of finalising the dates for Modi's visit to the country by the end of July or the first part of August, they said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

Rishi Sunak. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak returns to Goldman Sachs, will donate salary to charity

FORMER prime minister Rishi Sunak has returned to the banking world as senior adviser at Goldman Sachs group, with plans to donate his salary to the education charity he recently established with his wife Akshata Murty.

The US-headquartered multinational investment bank, where Sunak worked before entering politics, made the announcement on Tuesday (8) after the requisite 12-month period elapsed since the British Indian leader's ministerial term concluded following defeat in the general election on July 4 last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London.

Getty Images

Post Office scandal linked to 13 suicides, says inquiry

Highlights:

 
     
  • Public inquiry finds up to 13 suicides linked to wrongful Post Office prosecutions.
  •  
  • Horizon IT system faults led to false accusations, financial ruin, and imprisonment.
  •  
  • Sir Wyn Williams says Post Office maintained a “fiction” of accurate data despite known faults.

A PUBLIC inquiry has found that up to 13 people may have taken their own lives after being wrongly accused of financial misconduct by the Post Office, in what is now described as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK ramps up drought response following driest spring

The EA has begun conducting more compliance checks on high-usage industries

Getty Images

UK ramps up drought response following driest spring since 1893

Key points

  • Spring 2025 was England’s driest and warmest in over 130 years
  • Reservoirs across England only 77% full, compared to 93% average
  • Environment Agency increases monitoring and drought planning
  • North-west England officially declared in drought

Water conservation measures stepped up ahead of summer

The UK government has increased efforts to manage water resources after confirming that England experienced its driest and warmest spring since 1893. The Environment Agency (EA) reported that reservoirs were on average only 77% full, significantly lower than the usual 93% for this time of year.

The announcement came after a National Drought Group meeting on Thursday, which reviewed the impact of continued dry weather on crops, canal navigation, and river flows. Poor grass growth and dry soil conditions were noted as threats to food production and livestock feed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Norman Tebbit

Following Thatcher’s third general election victory in 1987, Tebbit stepped back from frontline politics to care for his wife. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Former minister, Thatcher ally Norman Tebbit dies at 94

Norman Tebbit, a close ally of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and a former Conservative Party cabinet minister, has died at the age of 94. His son William confirmed the news on Tuesday.

"At 11:15 pm on 7th July, 2025, Lord Tebbit died peacefully at home aged 94," William Tebbit said in a statement.

Keep ReadingShow less