There are number of different ways that Treasury proposals for regional or local pay in the public sector pay would be bad for people working in the private as well as public sector. New Economics Foundation spent several months conducting extensive economic modelling on the different outcomes of the policy in local and regional economies.…
As the full social economic implications of the closure of the Rio Tinto Alcan smelter at Lynemouth are digested in Whitehall, it is worth considering what lessons must be learned. Yesterday, I highlighted how the cumulative impact of energy policies, including the proposed carbon tax, has substantially increased costs for Energy Intensive Industries within UK…
On the day that North East unemployment hit 11.6% and UK youth unemployment broken through the 1 million mark, Alcan announced that it is to close its aluminium smelter in the region, with the loss of over 500 jobs. The company cites the UK’s high energy costs. The TUC and unions in the industry have been warning…