Finding a home is harder, keeping one is more precarious, and the financial pressures on both tenants and landlords are converging in a way that threatens the stability of thousands of households. The lived reality for prospective tenants and families already in private rented homes when social housing is very hard to get.
Landlords in Scotland and especially in the Highlands are selling up in significant numbers, and the reasons are even sharper than in the rest of the UK. The combination of rising mortgage rates, higher operating costs, new regulations, and rural‑specific pressures has pushed many small landlords to exit the sector.
Building on the Government's recently published fusion strategy, UK Fusion Energy Ltd (UKFE) has published its new Fusion Strategy. The strategy sets out how the UK will deliver its prototype fusion power plant, STEP Fusion, and secure a leading position in the emerging global fusion market estimated to be worth up to £12 trillion by 2100.
It has become a familiar rhythm in the UK. Another investigation, another scandal, another quiet admission that customers have been overcharged, misled, or simply treated as a revenue stream rather than people.
Commodities are where the real stress in the global economy is showing up first—often before consumers feel it. And what's happening is not uniform.
In its latest assessment of the world economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has delivered a clear message. Global growth is weakening again, and risks are rising.
Despite persistent concerns about slow growth, high living costs, and global uncertainty, the UK economy is not without meaningful strengths. In fact, beneath the surface of negative headlines, there are several genuine bright spots suggesting resilience, adaptation, and long-term potential.
A dozen breakthrough technologies are set to reach farms faster, boosting productivity and sustainability. Cutting-edge technologies from robotics to AI will be fast-tracked into practical tools for farmers, backed by around £50 million of public and private investment, Farming Minister Dame Angela Eagle announced on 14 April 2026.
Rachel Springall, Finance Expert at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, comments on the buy-to-let statistics (Q4 2025 data) from UK Finance, out today. "Tough times are ahead for landlords as the profitability of buy-to-let has been damaged due to tighter legislation, and with rising running costs eating into profit margins, it is squeezing them from all sides.
In this kind of environment, small decisions compound into big financial outcomes over time. In the current environment it is time to spend carefully and save if you can - cash in the hand or in the bank beats debt every time.
The past week has seen a surge of headlines claiming the UK "could run out of fuel by the end of the month." Beneath the noise, a more serious and credible warning has emerged from energy‑security experts particularly Nick Butler, former BP head of strategy and Downing Street energy adviser who argues that the UK should already be preparing a fuel contingency plan. His concern is not sensationalism but a sober assessment of the UK's exposure to global supply shocks, especially with the Strait of Hormuz disrupted by the escalating Iran-Middle East conflict.
The latest ONS survey shows a significant 29.4% of transport & storage companies are concerned about the impact of international conflict. The international delivery expert Parcelhero says these results represent a huge escalation in anxiety about global disputes.
Winter Fuel Payments paid in winter 2025 will be recovered from pensioners with income above £35,000. Check if your payment will be reclaimed at GOV.UK - you don't need to contact HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
The UK is about to enter a new phase of lottery history. For the first time, British players will be able to take part in a shared trans‑Atlantic jackpot through a formal agreement between Allwyn, operator of the UK National Lottery, and the US Multi‑State Lottery Association (MUSL), which runs Powerball.
With the Scottish Parliament election taking place on Thursday 7 May 2026, electors in the three Highland constituencies are being urged to ensure they are registered to vote before the deadline for receipt of applications which is midnight next Monday (20 April). You will receive a poll letter to tell you where to go to cast your vote on Thursday 7 May.
The announcement by Donald Trump of a blockade targeting Iranian oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz has sent an immediate shock through global energy markets. Within hours, crude oil prices surged back above $100 per barrel, reflecting deep concern about the stability of one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints.
The escalating issues in the Middle East sparked by the blockade targeting Iranian shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is no longer just an oil market story. It is rapidly becoming an aviation crisis, with the UK and Europe exposed to a tightening supply of jet fuel, rising costs, and the very real possibility of disruption to flights.
We are living through a wartime economic crisis. And our government is choosing not to act.
Just about everything you have been told about stock markets and the UK economy is wrong. Politicians talk nonsense about stock markets.
Scotland and the wider UK are heading into a period where staple food prices will rise again, driven not by domestic shortages but by the global oil shock triggered by the Gulf crisis. Bread, milk and potatoes the core of the weekly shop are among the most exposed because their entire supply chains run on fuel, fertiliser and energy.