1. ‘BRITAIN IS WALKING
TALL’, INSISTS OSBORNE
GEORGE Osborne gave his 2015 Budget
to Parliament last Wednesday 18th March.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer
opened his speech by highlighting the
countries’economic growth under the
current government saying “Today, I can
confirm: in the last year we have grown
faster than any other major advanced
economy in the world.”
With the election just 6 weeks away, it is
unsurprising the Chancellor was eager to
stress the positive changes made under the
current government.
This Budget puts a heavy focus on the
reduction of unemployment in the process
of eliminating our deficit.
The Chancellor made it clear that in order
for the country to thrive again, employment
rates must continue to rise.
Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted;
“The highest employment rate in our
history is not a dry fact, it means more
people with the security of a pay packet
and a brighter future.”
Whilst this is good news for future
SPOTIFY AND BEER MEASURE UK INFLATION
BY
SOPHIE
AIKEN
Oxbridge is ‘still
deeply racist’OXBRIDGE has been branded
“institutionally racist” and a
“finishing school for the private
school system” by one of its own
academics.
Professor Diane Reay also accused
universities of ‘accentuating elitism’
among the privileged.
In 2013, the success rate of
Bangladeshi and Pakistani students
applying for Oxford was under seven
per cent, while black Caribbean
students had a 14.3 per cent
conversion rate and Black African
students a 13 per cent success rate.
Aussie Rugby
star accused of
homophobiaISRAEL Folau has been accused of
using homophobic language against
an opposing team.
Brumbies player David Pocock
twice told the referee that a
homophobic slur was used towards
his team during their 28-13 loss to
the NSW Waratahs on Sunday – less
than 12 months after the ARU signed
off on an “inclusion” policy.
Folau denies the allegations
and insists there’s no room for
homophobia at the Waratahs.
STHE OTONIAN Thursday, March 26, 2015NEWS
6 solentjournalism.co.uk
BY
JULIA
CONOPO
Charges follow
Fortress raids
TWENTY four people have been
charged following a crackdown
on the supply of Class A drugs in
Southampton and Winchester.
The charges come after Hampshire
police’s Operation Fortress team
executed warrants in Lancashire and
Cheshire in summer 2014.
The team set up to deal with drug
related violence, were supported
by police in Greater Manchester,
Lancashire and Cheshire.
graduates preparing to enter the workforce,
the increasing number of zero-hour contracts
and high level of competition for the likes of
graduate schemes, means the jobs available
may not be the first choice for many.
There was bad news for students as the
Chancellor failed to make any changes to
university tuition fees meaning young people
will continue to face hefty debts should they
choose to enter higher education.
If a Labour government emerges in May
however, there may be hope as they have
openly stated their desire to reduce the high
fees put in place by the current coalition
government.
Labour leader Ed Miliband believes the
Conservative party will make more cuts
should they win the election in May, he
tweeted: “There’s never been a bigger gap
between the rhetoric of the Chancellor’s
speech and the reality of people’s lives.”
In recent years, the young people of Britain
have been hit hardest by the housing crisis.
With many unable to get onto the property
ladder at all, George Osborne aims to rectify
this with plans for a ‘Help to Buy ISA’
scheme.
Those who choose to save for a deposit
under this scheme will receive an extra £1
for every £4 saved. However, this is capped
at £12,000 and with housing prices still at a
high, this deposit may not stretch very far.
Some of the best news for students and the
PURCHASES such as craft beer and
Spotify are now being used to measure
UK inflation.
The Office for National Statistics anal-
yses over 700 items every year to stay up
to date with changing shopping habits.
It is crucial that the list of items reflects
what people are buying as it underpins
the consumer price index which is used to
measure UK inflation.
Items such as electronic cigarettes,
music streaming services and craft beers
have now been added to the list, along
with games console subscriptions and
headphones.
Many items have also been removed
from the list, such as sat navs and frozen
pizza.
Latest figures from The Office for
National Statistics state that the second
estimate of Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) confirmed that the UK economy
grew by 0.5% in the final quarter of
2014, and by 2.6% in 2014 as a whole,
the fastest annual rate since 2007.
Whilst household spending and in-
vestment have both contributed strong-
ly to the economic recovery since 2013,
Items removed from the list:
Frozen pizza, home killed beef/
braising steak, oven-ready joint,
yoghurt drink, white emulsion
paint, satellite navigation device,
cut flowers/lilies, foreign
exchange commission.
Items added to the list:
Chilled pizza, liver, oven-ready
joint of gammon/pork, melon,
sweet potato, protein powder,
bottled speciality beer/ale,
electronic cigarette refills/liquid,
non-white emulsion paint, mobile
phone accessories, headphones,
games console subscription
services, music streaming
subscription services.
MILLIONS of people in the UK caught
a glimpse at the best solar eclipse
for years on Friday morning, yet
Southampton did not!
The eclipse, which was at its
maximum 83% at 9:32 Friday
morning, could be seen in all parts of
the UK.
However, poor weather and visibility
left many in the South East corner
disappointed. With little or no
visibility, many struggled to even
establish the direction of the Sun.
Other parts of the UK had better
weather than previously anticipated,
with clouds breaking at just the right
time, whilst those caught under
gloomy skies took to the internet for
a look at the eclipse.
Many disappointed spectators hit to
social networking sites to vent their
anger at the great British weather for
interrupting nature’s phenomenon,
resulting to TV to view the spectacle.
Southampton
unable to view
solar eclipse
pubs they drink in is that beer duty is to be
cut by 1p for the third year in a row.
Duty on cider and various spirits will
be cut by 2 per cent with wine duty being
frozen.
ALCOHOL: Beer duty to be cut by 1p for the third year
Whilst this is great news for the alcohol
industry, the implications on Britain’s binge
drinking culture are a concern that seem to
have been neglected by the Chancellor in
his quest to create more jobs.
BEER: Craft beer is now used to measure inflation
growth in investment has moderated recently,
partly as a consequence of lower investment in
the oil and gas industries.
However, despite sustained economic growth
and a tightening labour market, consumer price
inflation has fallen to a record low.
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