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No more clubbing? Some UK clubs close amid quieting nightlife

Mar 5, 2024
The United Kingdom's biggest nightclub operator has closed 17 venues, blaming slow midweek business.
The interior of the Pryzm nightclub in Leeds in September 2020. The club has since permanently closed.
Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images

British doctors seek jobs abroad amid discontent over NHS pay

Feb 19, 2024
As doctors prepare for another strike to protest their salaries and working conditions, some weigh opportunities in the U.S. and Canada.
Junior doctors plan to go on strike Saturday, another in a series of work stoppages.
Guy Smallman/Getty Images

“Unhappy hour”: Pubs in the United Kingdom introduce surge pricing

Nov 23, 2023
The cost of a pint of beer is going to go up at busier times in hundreds of pubs owned by the Stonegate Group.
The Stonegate Group, owner of the U.K. bar chain Slug & Lettuce, has implemented dynamic pricing — allowing them to charge more at peak times and offer discounts during quieter moments.
John Keeble/Getty Images

The UK's private schools may be getting even more expensive

Oct 19, 2023
Labour, the main opposition party in the United Kingdom, wants to undo a tax exemption private schools have enjoyed for decades.
Eton College, an elite private school west of London for the wealthy and famous, pictured in 2015.
Jack Taylor/AFP via Getty Images

What does tipping look like in the United Kingdom?

Sep 21, 2023
Free health care and a higher minimum wage in the U.K. means that there's less reliance on tips to make up workers' income.
In the U.K., the standard tip is roughly 10% at restaurants, though people won’t leave any extra if they think the service hasn’t been good enough.
Peter Summers/Getty Images

Thames Water, the UK’s biggest water company, struggles to plug a hole in its finances

Jul 6, 2023
Huge debts and raw sewage threaten the future of a major British utility.
Joan Fennelly, left, and Jo Robb of the Henley Mermaids swimming in the Thames — in spite of the sewage. “We’ve seen it all and it’s very upsetting.”
Mimisse Beard

Europe's seeing inflation fade. The UK still has it bad. In Japan, inflation is actually good news.

Jun 30, 2023
How some other big economies are handling rising prices.
Susannah Ireland/AFP via Getty Images

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Inflation: Why is it so sticky in the UK?

Jun 13, 2023
A labor shortage and a relatively strong economy contribute to high prices. Some experts worry about inflationary expectations.
A food stall at an outdoor market in London. Food inflation recently hit a 45-year high in the U.K.
Susannah Ireland/AFP via Getty Images

New UK fiscal metric paints a rosier picture of the national debt

May 17, 2023
The U.K. has adopted an additional fiscal statistic that suggests public finances are not in such a bad shape after all.
The U.K.'s new “public sector net worth” measure offsets debt by including government-owned infrastructure, such as railways.
Carlos Jasso/AFP via Getty Images

A tale of two British coronations — and two very different economies

May 5, 2023
70 years and huge economic changes separate the crowning of the late Queen Elizabeth and of her son King Charles.
A man erects a life size cut-out of King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort on the Mall as preparations continue for the Coronation.
Ian Forsyth/Getty Images