YouGov/Cebr consumer confidence index records biggest drop in household financial outlook since April. Overall index decreased by 0.2. Retrospective (-2.2) and forward-looking (-5.7) perceptions of household finances drop significantly Business activity measures improve over September (+1,5), and for the next twelve months (+2.7)

CrossCountry is bringing eight more Voyager trains into service from early 2027, adding seats on routes that link the North East, Yorkshire and Manchester with the south coast. CrossCountry is to add eight more Voyager trains to its long-distance fleet, with the first due to carry passengers early next year.

Experts at law firm Mills & Reeve are behind a push for new legislation to help people protect themselves against the threat of AI-generated deepfakes, in a campaign that has secured the backing of football stars Cole Palmer and Lucy Bronze among others.

Business and university leaders have warned that devolution must strengthen the contribution of places to the UK's innovation economy without fragmenting the national capabilities needed to compete globally.

A prostate cancer expert has said statistics showing cancer rates in men under 50 have more than tripled between 2001 and 2023 “should be a wake up call for the UK’s National Screening Committee.” Prof Chris Booth, founder of men’s health charity CHAPS and a former consultant urologist with more than 40 years’ experience said the statistics from The World Cancer Research Fund “endorse the trend CH…

The UK Civil Aviation Authority has published its annual passenger survey for 2025.  The survey found that passenger satisfaction with airports remains high despite a growth in air travel.  Travellers are increasingly choosing to travel to the airport by public transport, while leisure remains the key reason for flying.  The Civil Aviation Authority has released its 2025 passenger survey, which…

CrossCountry customers encouraged to plan ahead for Christmas travel: Snow at Birmingham New Street Rail passengers travelling this Christmas are being encouraged to plan ahead, as major engineering work will mean no trains can operate to or from Birmingham New Street between Thursday 24 and Monday 28 December 2026.

Vital funding will help EMPOWER Youth Zones expand its work and create more opportunities for children and young people throughout Greater Manchester. The Matchroom Charitable Foundation has announced a £50,000 donation to EMPOWER Youth Zones, supporting the charity’s work with thousands of young people across Salford and Manchester.

Dr Zeineb Djebal, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the University of Liverpool Management School and Academic Programme Director for the Help to Grow: Management Course. On International Day of Older People, I’m taking a moment to recognise a group that deserves more attention in conversations about entrepreneurship: the over 50s who are building businesses…

The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) has today announced 25 standout projects as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations. This diverse selection of projects stretches across the UK and illustrates what half a century of heritage-led regeneration looks like in practice.

Teenage girls are spending fewer evenings with friends, feeling isolated in their communities and dodging school sport at higher rates than boys, according to a report into England’s “bedroom generation”.  Polling of 15-year-olds for the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) finds that more than one in five girls (21 per cent) now spends no evenings out with friends during a typical week, compared wi…

Supporters of compensation for WASPI women outnumber opponents by almost four to one, according to a landmark new analysis of more than 10,000 voters. The research, carried out by Stack Data Strategy among 10,052 adults in Great Britain, found that almost half of voters (47 per cent) believe women affected by State Pension age changes should receive full or partial redress.

Miller Homes has opened applications for the second round of its 2026 Community Fund, inviting charities and community groups across the North West, including Coppull to apply for grants to support local projects and initiatives. The fund offers donations ranging from £250 to £2,000, helping organisations that make a positive difference within the communities where the homebuilder operates.

Dear Editor, Like most of us, I don’t think twice before hopping on a bus or train to go to work, meet friends or do a spot of shopping. However, for millions of people across the country who are deaf or have hearing loss, barriers on public transport can make even every day journeys feel impossible.

Almost all charities surveyed say current funding levels are not keeping pace with costs. Half are considering redundancies, while three-quarters report falling income over the past year.

Millions of older homeowners are sitting on a retirement lifeline worth hundreds of thousands of pounds — but as Andrew Palmer reports the research shows those in the North are far less likely than southerners to ever consider using it It sounds like a story about poverty.

Grocery bills that have crept up modestly this year are on course for a far sharper rise, with food inflation forecast to almost double by 2027 as extreme weather, energy costs and supply chain disruption converge on the food system.

New polling by Opinium for Carers UK reveals that 3.33 million people have given up work to care for a family member or friend who is older, disabled or seriously ill, with 1.1 million leaving their job in the last two years alone – more than 1,500 people a day.

The UK stands to lose a multi-billion-pound economic opportunity and risks letting investment, jobs and energy security slip away, say the authors of the 2026 Economic Report from Offshore Energies UK Energy security is national security in an increasingly volatile world where conflict in the Middle East is constricting global oil and gas supply.

New index shows established brands recovering fastest from customer discontent, while debt charity StepChange records a near-perfect score at one of the hardest moments in people's financial lives, writes Andrew Palmer The challengers were supposed to be winning this fight. This month, the old guard hit back.