UK Current Affairs Flashcards
Bus fares to rise to £3
Raising from £2 which was set by conservatives to assist in the cost of living crisis
will run until 2025
3.4 million people ~ 5% of UK pop
In greater London it will remain at £1.75 and £2 in Greater Manchester
Fertility rate in England & Wales drops to new low
Women had avg of 1.44 children between 2022 & 2023 - a new low
Only 590,000 babies born in 2023, fewer than any year since 1977, 14,000 less than previous year
New avg age of new mums/dads increased to 33.8 & 30.9
Due to financial pressures, not feeling ready, or not having found the right partner
Number of women in child bearing age is highest ever
mean total fertility rate in 2023 was lowest recorded since 1938
Just Stop Oil
Founded 2022
Oppose UK gov granting new fossil fuel licensing and production agreements
Want stop all future consents and licensing agreements related to development, exploration, and production of ff’s in the UK
Primarily funded through donations: climate emergency fund in USA
Orange confetti and jigsaw pieces in Wimbledon
Blocking roads
British Grand Prix - a group ran onto track at Silverstone shortly after a crash, despite cars still driving
Tomato soup at Vincent Van Gogh’s sunflowers painting
Disrupted London Pride march because it was sponsored by United Airlines
Stonehenge paint
Water Industry Crisis
Last year England’s water firms released raw sewage for a total of 3.6m hours, more than double previous year
Some communities told to boil tap water to make it safe, others had water supply cut off for days/weeks
Some parts of the country could face drinking water shortage by the 2030’s
plans to build new homes jeopardised by water supply problems
£60Bn debt currently
Thames water dividend often exceeded profit
Water companies paid out £52Bn in dividends since 1990, invested £236Bn
Disposable vape ban
Scotland will delay their ban by 2 months to bring it in line with UK
They will be banned from 1st June 2025
Scottish govt was first in UK to commit to taking action on single use vapes
22% of all under 18’s used a vape in previous year. more young people using them than smoking cigs
Could fuel a rise in illegal sales of them
Cheaper than refillable ones, can be bought in more places
Separate measure than govt plan to ban cigs for Jan 2009+ people
