Home UK retailers miss out on Christmas shopping boost
UK retailers miss out on Christmas shopping boost
Meagre spending growth in December coincides with further weakening of public finances
World Economy News
22 Jan 2021 • 3 min read
UK retail sales rose less than expected in December as shoppers preparing for a pandemic-hit Christmas eschewed spending significant amounts.
The volume of sales by value climbed just 0.3 per cent in December from the previous month, even though shops reopened across England following a November lockdown, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics on Friday.
The data confirmed that the 1.9 per cent fall in 2020 was the biggest since records began in 1997.
Bath in Somerset, Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire, Ilfracombe in Devon and Canterbury in Kent made up the top five of the most sought-after locations.
LONDON (Jan 20): The average home in London climbed above 500,000 pounds (US$685,000) for the first time, bringing cheer to homeowners and piling on the misery for those increasingly priced out of the market. Values in the UK capital were 9.7% higher in November than a year earlier, a surge matched only by Yorkshire and The Humber in northern England, according to Land Registry figures published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday. At 513,997 pounds on average, prices in London are now more than double the national level.
Tories would gain up to 10 seats from boundary changes, analysts say
Parliamentary Constituencies Act will see all 650 constituencies redrawn in order to reflect changing size of the population
3 January 2021 • 2:36pm
In The Tory manifesto, Boris Johnson pledged to update and equal Parliamentary boundaries
Credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images Europe
The Conservatives would gain up to 10 seats thanks to boundary changes, analysts have predicted ahead of the new parliamentary constituency review.
Last month the Government passed the Parliamentary Constituencies Act, which will see all 650 constituencies redrawn in order to reflect the changing size of the population.
Figures to be published by the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday will confirm the size of the electorate in March last year and instigate the start of the Boundary Commission s new review, with the final report due in July 2023. Any general election held after this date will be based on the new boundaries.