Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 22 August 2022

1. Truss plans to ‘avoid economic forecast’

Rishi Sunak said Liz Truss cannot afford tax cuts and a support package to help tackle rising energy bills. The former chancellor said his Tory leadership rival would have to raise borrowing to dangerous levels, risking higher inflation. Truss, the frontrunner, is reportedly planning to avoid asking the Office for Budget Responsibility watchdog for an updated forecast of the economy ahead of her planned emergency budget. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said Truss would be basing her emergency budget on “very out of date” forecasts.

How Britain’s inflation became the ‘worst in the G7’

2. 1.7m plan to cancel direct debits

A “winter debt crisis” is looming as more than 1.7m households are expected to cancel direct debit payments to energy suppliers, according to the i news site. Around one-in-seven energy users who pay via direct debit have either already decided (4%) or are likely to (10%) cancel their payments, the research found. “If consumers decide to stop paying their energy bills, it could have a serious impact on their financial situation, affecting their credit rating and potentially making it harder to take out loans, credit cards or mortgages in the future,” said Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Is it time to nationalise energy companies?

3. Ukraine fears car bomb revenge

Ukraine is expecting an intensification of Russian missile attacks following the car bomb killing of the daughter of ultra-nationalist Russian ideologue, Alexander Dugin. Moscow has reportedly put five cruise missile-bearing warships and submarines out in the Black Sea and is positioning air defence systems in Belarus. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had warned that “Russia may try to do something particularly nasty, something particularly cruel” this week as the country celebrates its 31st anniversary of independence. Large gatherings have been banned in Kyiv for four days.

4. Bosses get 39% pay rise

Chief executives of the UK’s 100 biggest companies have enjoyed a pay jump of 39% to an average of £3.4m, according to the High Pay Centre think tank and the Trades Union Congress (TUC). The rise in executive pay means that the average UK CEO now collects 109 times that paid to the average British worker, up from 79 times in 2020. Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC, said: “Workers deserve a fair share of the wealth they create. But right now, CEO pay is soaring while working people experience the biggest real wage falls in 20 years.”

5. Khan charged under anti-terror laws

Police in Pakistan have charged former prime minister Imran Khan under anti-terror laws. Their investigation came after the cricketer-turned-politician accused authorities of torturing his close aide, who is himself being detained under sedition charges. Since he was removed from power in April, Khan has been a “vocal critic” of the government and the army, said the BBC, and supporters gathering outside his house have vowed to “take over” if he is arrested.

Imran Khan and the poisonous legacy of the ‘Trump of Pakistan’

6. ‘Less PlayStation’ helps girls at GCSEs

An education expert said girls will outperform boys in their GCSEs because they were less likely to neglect their studies during the lockdown in favour of PlayStation games. Professor Alan Smithers, director of education at Buckingham University, said: “With the return to objective exams, the gap might be expected to narrow, but evidence is stacking up that during lockdown boys were inclined to escape to their PlayStations, while girls applied themselves more consistently.” Pupils will receive results on Thursday.

7. Tory voters still prefer Boris

Conservative Party voters would prefer Boris Johnson as PM over the two rivals battling to be his successor, according to focus group research and polling. The Times said it interviewed floating voters in marginal constituencies and found “little enthusiasm” for either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak becoming the next Conservative leader. Meanwhile, polling found 49% of Tory supporters thought Johnson should remain prime minister – more than the combined support for both Truss and Sunak.

8. Singapore scraps anti-gay law

Singapore will repeal its ban on sex between men, said Lee Hsien Loong, the country’s prime minister. In his annual national day rally speech, Lee said: “I believe this is the right thing to do, and something that most Singaporeans will now accept.” In 2018, India’s highest court also scrapped a colonial-era ban on gay sex, while Thailand has recently moved closer to legalising same-sex unions. However, Lee said his government would continue with the traditional definition of marriage. “We believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman,” he added.

In which countries is homosexuality still illegal?

9. Fury calls for action on knife ‘pandemic’

The boxer Tyson Fury has called on ministers to introduce stronger punishments for knife crime after his cousin was killed in a stabbing. The heavyweight champion compared knife crime to a “pandemic”, adding, “you don’t know how bad it is until it’s one of your own”. Rico Burton, 31, was one of two people attacked in the Goose Green area of Altrincham, Greater Manchester, in the early hours of Sunday. He and a 17-year-old boy both suffered stab wounds. The teenager is still in hospital with serious injuries.

10. Japan may boost missile capability

Japan is considering the deployment of 1,000 long-range cruise missiles to bolster its capability against China. Citing government sources, the Yomiuri newspaper said the missiles would be existing arms modified to extend their range from 100km to 1,000km. Japan interprets its war-renouncing post war constitution to mean it may use its military only for self-defence, said CNN, but it has stepped up its military spending and taken a “more assertive strategy” in recent years.