On April 2, 2024, the UK Day will focus on the following:
● Cabinet Secretary Gove predicts that the general election could be held on November 14 or 21
● The pound fell against the US dollar on strong manufacturing data
● Nearly 5,000 illegal immigrants have arrived in the UK by boat this year
● Long waiting times in emergency departments indirectly contribute to the deaths of 268 patients per week in England
● More than 14,000 retail stores in the UK's high streets closed last year, and Muji's European division will go bankrupt
Cabinet Secretary Gove predicted that the general election could be held on November 14 or 21
On April 1, British Cabinet Secretary Michael Gove participated in a podcast called Political Currency, co-hosted by former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and Ed Balls of the Labour Party.
On the show, when asked when he thought the election would be held, Gove said: "I think it's on November 14 or 21...... But I must admit that I had no idea at all. Gove added: "Even if Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tells me the date set for the election, I can't tell you." So it can be said that... The above dates are entirely my guesses. ”
At present, the general election is widely expected to be held this autumn.
Osborne, a close ally of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, had previously predicted that the election would be held on November 14.
John Curtice, a well-known British pollster and professor of political science at the University of Sclyde in Scotland, also believes that the general election will be scheduled for November 14. He explained that October 2 is the last day of the Conservative Party conference, when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is likely to fire the "starting gun" for the general election.
The pound fell against the dollar on strong US manufacturing data
Data from the Institute for Supply Management showed that U.S. business activity expanded for the first time since September 2022 in March 2024, and the resilience of the U.S. economy contrasted sharply with the calm of European markets closed for the holidays.
Meanwhile, the US manufacturing PMI reached 50.3 in March, beating consensus expectations of 48.4. Money market traders lowered the probability of a Fed rate cut in June from around 60% to 56.9% after the release of the data, which supported the dollar. Moreover, US Treasury yields soared, which was negative for the pound.
On April 1, the pound fell 0.667% against the US dollar and is currently trading at 1:1.2565.
The pound also fell 0.484% against the yuan in a day, and is currently trading at 1:9.092.
As of press time (April 2), the latest exchange rates for the British pound are as follows:
Nearly 5,000 illegal immigrants have arrived in the UK by boat this year
So far this year, 4,993 illegal migrants have arrived in the UK in small boats, according to the Home Office. The total number of illegal boat people in 2023 is 29,437.
Currently, the UK government's main strategy to tackle illegal boat people is the Rwandan Repatriation Scheme, however, legislation for this scheme has not been passed before Easter. The bill will return to the House of Commons when Parliament reconvenes on April 15.
Michael Tomlinson, the British government's minister for illegal immigration, accused that Labour had voted 118 times in a row against measures put by the Conservative Party to ensure border security, adding: "Labour is determined to remove the effective deterrence of the Rwandan plan, and the number of illegal immigrants in the UK will only continue to increase under the leadership of Labour." ”
Long waiting times in emergency rooms indirectly lead to 268 patient deaths per week in England
According to the latest estimates published by the Royal Society of Emergency Medicine, 268 patients died unnecessarily every week in England last year due to long wait times for emergency department (A&E), with a total of about 14,000 people in the whole year.
In 2023, more than 1.5 million patients waited 12 hours or more in NHS emergency departments to be treated.
In February, 150,000 patients (11.3 per cent) in England waited at least half a day in emergency rooms.
The chart below shows the NHS hospitals with the longest wait times for emergency rooms in England:
More than 14,000 retail stores in the UK's high streets closed last year, and Muji's European division will go bankrupt
According to data firm Local Data Company, the overall vacancy rate on the UK's high streets rose by 0.2% in 2023 to 14%, with more than 14,000 retail stores closed in a year.
Regionally, the North East of England (17.9%) has the highest vacancy rate, followed by Wales (17.4%) and the West Midlands (16.2%).
In terms of brands, following brands such as Wilko and Paperchase, Muji's European division is also in receivership, and Ted Baker has asked the receivers to rescue its 86 stores across the UK.
Bucking the shut-out trend are Zara, HM, Primark, Greggs, Domino's Pizza and two coffee makers, Costa and Starbucks, all of which reported sales growth in the last year and are set to expand further across the UK.