The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act has become law after receiving Royal Assent.

The Act paves the way to give consumers rights across the UK, with greater control and clarity over online purchases. 

It does this by requiring businesses to provide clearer information to consumers before they enter a subscription contract, remind consumers that their free trial or low-cost trial is coming to an end, and ensure consumers can easily exit a contract. 

Unavoidable hidden fees will also need to be included in the initial cost or clearly illustrated at the start of the purchasing journey. This will ensure consumers are clear from the offset about what they’re spending. 

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act will also give new tools to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to address the challenges to competition in digital markets.

These tools will allow the competition regulator to set tailored ‘conduct requirements’ which require a powerful tech company to change the way it operates if it is not treating users fairly. These rules could give consumers the room to freely choose the services they use or stop companies from withholding information consumers need to make good decisions.  

The Act also gives the regulator powers to intervene and direct a firm to change its behaviour to boost competition – whether that is to benefit people using smartphones or businesses dependent on cloud services.   

The Act will also give new powers to the CMA to closely monitor road fuel prices and report any sign of malpractice to the government.

Only a handful of the most powerful global technology companies will be subject to these new rules if, following an investigation, they are deemed to hold ‘strategic market status’.

There is a French saying “Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose” meaning, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Its interesting to apply this to a change that is about to come about, if, as expected, the Labour Party form the next government from the 5^{th of} July.

The present Shadow Chancellor, Rachael Reeves, has indicated that there will be no immediate post-election budget, which means no immediate tax changes.

Both sides (Conservative and Labour) have underlined that they will not add to UK debt by increasing government spending. Instead, they have asserted they will cover any expenditure with tax funding.

But don’t hold your breath. Once the new government is safely ensconced at Downing Street who knows what may be in store for us.

One thing is certain, we may have to rethink any financial planning that we have implemented thus far if we have a Labour administration. There longer term focus is likely to be tackling income inequalities and levelling up. We shall see…

Meantime, expect no immediate, drastic changes in economic policy. But expect movement next year as the new government becomes familiar with facts and figures. We may see evidence short-term that policy may appear to stay the same, but it’s unlikely that this will continue long-term.

The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, declared from the steps of Downing Street (on 22 May 2024) that the next general election will take place on 4 July 2024. 

The Prime Minister confirmed that he had spoken with His Majesty the King to request the dissolution of parliament. The King granted this request, thereby confirming that the general election will take place on the 4 July 2024. This will be the first election to take place in July since 1945.

Following the announcement by the Prime Minister the Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission, said:

“The electoral community will now be putting all its planning into action, working to support voters and delivering well-run polls. I’m very grateful to all involved for their crucial work supporting our democracy. 

Voters need to be registered to take part in the election. Applying only takes five minutes at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote and must be done by 18 June. Voters can choose whether to vote at a polling station, by post or by proxy. 

For the first time at a UK general election, those voting at a polling station will need to show photo ID. Voters should check now if they have an accepted form of ID, and if not to apply for free ID, called the Voter Authority Certificate."

Key dates:

An economist from the Treasury explains exactly what a fall in inflation means for you.

How will lower inflation help the economy?  

Lower inflation supports people by maintaining the purchasing power of their money.  

If prices only rise slowly, people can plan their budgets more effectively – encouraging spending and investment, which fuels the economy.  

Lower inflation also helps businesses grow by providing a stable, predictable environment for them to operate in – allowing for more job opportunities or the ability to research new products and services. 

Finally, low inflation enhances the UK’s competitiveness in a global market. When the economy is stable and predictable, other countries are more interested in investing in the UK.  

This can bring in more money from foreign investors, give us better trade deals, and make the overall economy stronger. 

How will lower inflation help my business?  

If inflation is lower, it means the price of materials businesses use to produce their goods and services aren’t rising as quickly, so there is less pressure on them to pass price increases onto their customers. 

For example, a coffee shop won’t face large increases in the cost of their coffee beans, paper cups, or the energy to turn on the lights in the coffee shop.  

Because none of those things are getting drastically more expensive, they don’t have to pass those costs on to coffee for their customers.

Lower inflation provides a sense of stability for businesses, which is important to empower them to make decisions about their future. 

If inflation is high and volatile, businesses aren’t able to plan for their future spending decisions.  

For example, if you want to invest in a factory that will take a year to build, it’s important to know how much things will cost in a year’s time.  

What does inflation going down mean for my mortgage?  

Inflation influences mortgage rates indirectly, through financial market’s expectations for the Bank of England’s base interest rate.  

The base interest rate, which is also known as the Bank Rate, is the tool used by the Bank of England to bring inflation down. 

Mortgages are generally priced to reflect what the financial markets expect future interest rates to be. 

This means that if markets start to expect higher inflation, they will raise their expectations for the Bank Rate, in order to cool the economy and bring inflation back to target. This is in turn reflected in mortgage interest rates.  

If inflation falls more quickly than expected, it may lead to reductions in market expectations for the base interest rate and therefore reductions in mortgage rates offered.