How the falling pound affects you – and who the winners and losers are

Published

3 years ago

September 27, 2022

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Friday’s mini-budget that promised billions in tax cuts and a multi-billion pound energy price cap has seen the value of the pound plummet against foreign currencies.

The new prime minister and her chancellor’s decision to cut various taxes by a combined £45bn, alongside a cap on energy prices that will cost taxpayers £60bn has resulted in a loss of market confidence.

Lenders withdraw mortgage profits; live pound updates

That loss of confidence in the government’s ability to pay back the billions they are spending means the Bank of England is likely to raise interest rates – in a desperate bid to bring down inflation.

This all has an effect on Britain’s day-to-day spending. Here, Sky News looks at who will suffer and who will benefit from the pound’s slump.

Petrol

Fuel is traded in dollars.

This means that a low pound will buy less fuel, forcing prices at UK forecourts to rise.

Drivers will have noticed a recent dip in prices at the pumps – compared with this summer when they approached £2 a litre for diesel.

But the slump in value of the pound will likely wipe out that fall, which was a welcome relief for many.

According to the AA, a pound that equals $1.08 will mean an extra 13.5p per litre of petrol.

That would add around £7.50 to the cost of filling up an average 55-litre car, when factoring in VAT.

An AA spokesman added that had it not been for former Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s decision to cut fuel duty by 5p in March, motorists would have likely seen an even bigger increase in the price per litre – of around 18.5p.

Energy

Gas is also traded in dollars and therefore also suffers from a poor exchange rate.

As with oil, wholesale prices have dropped internationally since the start of the war in Ukraine, but with a weak pound, similarly the UK won’t experience the benefits.

Sarah Coles, senior personal finance analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, tells Sky News: “At this stage, this won’t affect bill payers directly, because the energy price cap is set below international energy prices, so we’ll be paying less anyway.

“Instead it will have an impact on how much the guarantee will cost the government.”

The more the price cap costs the government, the less confidence the market will have in the government’s capacity to pay it back, causing the original problem to spiral further.

Food

Any goods imported to the UK from abroad will cost more when the pound is weaker.

According to the government’s most recent food security report, the UK imports around 45% of its food.

This has proven a major problem during the Ukraine war, with grain exports unable to leave the country for several months this year.

Along with the dollar, the pound is also faring badly against the Euro, which will mean European-grown fruit and veg prices will increase.

Produce grown further afield, such as bananas, will also go up.

Not all retailers will pass all of that cost onto their customers, however.

Supermarkets are often the last to increase their prices off the back of rising costs, as they try to remain affordable, and often buy stocks in advance to mitigate sudden market shocks.

But Ms Coles cautions: “Supermarkets have warned that although they are already absorbing a great deal of the increased costs of supply, they have to pass some of it on.”

Tech

Most of our tech gadgets, such as smartphones and tablets, are manufactured abroad.

Apple, for example, is based in California, but uses parts manufactured in China and Taiwan.

Again, a week pound will mean these foreign-made products cost more in the UK.

Apple has already increased the price of its latest iPhone range. The iPhone 13 started at £949 when it launched last year. The iPhone 14 range is retailing at £1,099 – a 16% increase.

Holidays abroad

The most obvious place consumers will experience the slump in the pound is at the bureau de change.

Holidaymakers bound for the US will get particularly less for their money than they used to – but with the pound also down against the Euro, holidays to Europe will also be more expensive.

With the cost of fuel also on the rise, airlines and package holiday providers may also increase their prices to mitigate costs.

Mortgages

A weak pound means inflation – which is already at 10% – getting even higher.

When inflation is high, the Bank of England tries to bring it down by increasing interest rates.

This higher price of borrowing is designed to encourage people to borrow less, spend less, and save more.

Currently forecasts predict interest rates hitting 6% by November, which will mean huge increases in people’s mortgage repayments.

Halifax, the country’s largest mortgage provider, is removing fee-paying mortgages from Wednesday. These allow people to pay a fee in exchange for a lower interest rates.

Virgin Money and Skipton Building Society have withdrawn all their mortgage products until they have more certainty.

The two million people in the UK already on tracker and variable mortgages will see far more of their monthly pay packet spent on repayments.

And those coming to the end of a fixed rate or hoping to buy for the first time will have fewer, more expensive deals to choose from.

“The issue is the fact that fixed rate mortgages don’t just depend on the rate today, they also depend on rate expectation,” Ms Coles explains.

“The dramatic overnight change in market expectations of future rates has ramped up the cost of doing business, and lenders are taking a break to reassess and reprice.”

Pensions

People approaching retirement could suffer from UK bonds – or gilts – being sold off in response to the pound’s fall.

Some investors automatically switch people’s pensions from stocks to government bonds as they get closer to retirement age, which will leave them with a smaller pot in the current climate.

Pensioners living abroad will also suffer notably – as their pensions are paid in pounds but their expenses are in stronger currencies.

UK exporters

British businesses that sell their products and services abroad will benefit from the pound’s slump as foreign buyers look to take advantage of cheaper prices.

This will see the FTSE 100 companies benefit, as much of their money is made overseas, Ms Coles says.

It could also provide much-needed help for smaller UK businesses struggling with the increased costs of Brexit.

Local tourism

More holidaymakers could be drawn to the UK from abroad by the promise of a cheaper holiday.

While Britons get less for their money at the bureau de change, inbound tourists will get more.

For example, a London hotel room that cost $200 (£186) at the start of 2022 now only costs $150.

Britons could also return to the ‘staycation’ trend seen during the COVID pandemic and also help boost the economy by supporting tourism and hospitality businesses at home.

Hedge funds

Hedge funds employ a strategy called ‘short selling’ or ‘shorting’ to take advantage of falling market prices.

It involves borrowing shares in a firm and selling them with a view to buying them back at a profit when prices fall.

Ms Coles says: “Plenty of hedge funds were shorting the pound before the fall – based on the belief that the markets had underestimated how long inflation would stick around for.

“So these paid off when the pound tumbled.”

UK

Ozzy Osbourne dies just weeks after farewell show

Published

6 hours ago

July 22, 2025

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Ozzy Osbourne dies just weeks after farewell show

Heavy metal star Ozzy Osbourne has died aged 76, just weeks after reuniting with his Black Sabbath bandmates and performing a huge farewell concert for fans.

In a statement, his family said: “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love.”

Latest: Tributes paid to Ozzy Osbourne

As he performed from a throne on stage at Villa Park less than three weeks ago, Osbourne told 42,000 fans: “You’ve no idea how I feel – thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

It was a gig put together with performances from some of his favourite acts, including Metallica and Guns N’ Roses, for the star’s “final bow”.

Osbourne and his fellow original Black Sabbath members – Tony Iommi, Terence “Geezer” Butler and Bill Ward – reunited for the first time in 20 years and were the last to appear on stage for the Back To The Beginning concert on 5 July.

Following his death, Metallica posted a photo on X of the band with Osbourne, along with a broken heart emoji.

Ronnie Wood, of The Rolling Stones, wrote: “I am so very sad to hear of the death of Ozzy Osbourne. What a lovely goodbye concert he had at Back To The Beginning in Birmingham.”

Black Sabbath’s account on X posted a photo of Osbourne from the gig with the caption: “Ozzy Forever!”

And Ali Campbell, singer with Birmingham band UB40, wrote: “Rest In Peace Ozzy. The Prince of Darkness. A true Birmingham legend. The undisputed king of heavy metal. You didn’t just shape a culture, you defined it. You led from the front and never looked back. My thoughts are with Sharon and the entire Osbourne family during this time.”

Sir Elton John described his “dear friend” as a “huge trailblazer” who “secured his place in the pantheon of rock gods”.

“He was also one of the funniest people I’ve ever met,” the singer also wrote on Instagram.

Born John Michael Osbourne on 3 December 1948 in Aston, Birmingham, he became known as the godfather of heavy metal.

The self-styled Prince of Darkness pioneered the music genre with Black Sabbath before going on to have huge success in his own right. He was famous for hits including Iron Man, Paranoid, War Pigs, Crazy Train and Changes, both with the band and as a solo star.

Black Sabbath’s eponymous debut album in 1970 made the UK top 10 and paved the way for a string of tracks.

They went on to become one of the most influential and successful metal bands of all time, selling more than 75 million albums worldwide.

The singer also found a different kind of fame thanks to noughties MTV reality show The Osbournes, which followed the Birmingham-raised star’s somewhat chaotic life in Los Angeles with wife Sharon and two of their children, Kelly and Jack.

And he was also known for the famous anecdotes of hellraising during his rock star heyday – most infamously, the tale of how he bit the head off a bat while on stage.

Black Sabbath fired Osbourne in 1979 for his legendary excesses, like showing up late for rehearsals and missing gigs.

“We knew we didn’t really have a choice but to sack him because he was just so out of control. But we were all very down about the situation,” wrote bassist Terry “Geezer” Butler in his memoir Into The Void.

Osbourne re-emerged the next year as a solo artist with his album Blizzard of Ozz. In 1981, he released his second album Diary Of A Madman – both were hard rock classics that went multiplatinum.

He had Parkinson’s disease and had suffered other health problems in recent years, including complications from injuries sustained in a fall in 2019.

After being forced to cancel tour shows, he made a one-off surprise appearance on stage in Birmingham to close the Commonwealth Games in 2022. The Villa Park gig was announced earlier this year by Sharon, who said he was determined to give fans the “perfect farewell”.

During his career, Osbourne was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame and the US Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame – twice for both, with Black Sabbath and as a solo artist.

He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame – as well as in Birmingham’s Broad Street – an Ivor Novello, and five Grammy wins from 12 nominations.

Plus, he received other honours such as the NME’s Godlike Genius award, and Classic Rock’s Living Legend prize, over the years.

Osbourne leaves behind his wife, Sharon, and their children, Aimee, Kelly and Jack, as well his two older children, Jessica and Louis, from his first marriage to Thelma Riley, and grandchildren.

UK

Ozzy Osbourne obituary: Heavy metal, reality TV, and biting bats – the wild life of Birmingham’s Prince Of Darkness

Published

9 hours ago

July 22, 2025

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Ozzy Osbourne obituary: Heavy metal, reality TV, and biting bats – the wild life of Birmingham's Prince Of Darkness

“You’ve no idea how I feel – thank you from the bottom of my heart,” an emotional Ozzy Osbourne told fans as he performed from a throne on stage at his beloved Villa Park, reunited with Black Sabbath, less than three weeks ago.

It was an exit on his own terms by heavy metal’s biggest character, with a supporting line-up of hard rock luminaries including Slayer, Metallica and Guns’n’Roses, all inspired by his music.

With Black Sabbath, Osbourne was at the forefront of heavy metal. As Ozzy, he was one of the biggest rock stars in the world. Nowhere was this more evident than at the Back To The Beginning in his home city, where 40,000 fans gathered to see the show billed as his “final bow”.

“Without Sabbath, there would be no Metallica,” frontman James Hetfield told the crowd in Birmingham.

It was a sentiment echoed by many of the other acts who performed on stage. Announced by his wife Sharon earlier this year, the show was a chance for the performer to reunite with Black Sabbath and say thank you and farewell to fans after years of health problems, including Parkinson’s disease, which had forced him to cancel recent tour shows.

Other celebrities, from Sir Elton John to Dolly Parton, sent video messages of support. Fans knew it would be his last performance, but could not have known his death, at the age of 76, would come so soon.

It was a truly metal goodbye.

‘I think there’s a wild man in everybody’

John Michael Osbourne was born in Solihull in December 1948 and grew up in the Aston area of the West Midlands city.

As a teenager, he was bullied at school. Drink and drugs later became a way to escape his fears, he said in interviews, and after leaving school at 15, he worked several jobs, including labouring and in an abattoir.

It was hearing The Beatles, he said, that made him want to be a musician.

“I think there’s a wild man in everybody,” he says in a resurfaced interview clip. “Ozzy Osbourne and John Osbourne is two different people. John Osbourne is talking to you now.” His eyes widen a little manically, he grins, the voice cranks up. “But if you want to be Ozzy Osbourne, it’s like… it just takes over you.”

In 1967, he was recruited to the band that two years later would become Black Sabbath, inspired by a film of the same title. This was a line-up of four working-class schoolfriends – Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler, alongside Ozzy – who twisted heavy blues into something darker, creating a sound and otherworldly image that felt new, exciting and rebellious.

A self-titled debut album was released in 1970 and made the Top 10 in the UK. The follow-up, Paranoid, released just seven months later, topped the charts after the single of the same name became their big breakthrough. The album also included the unforgettable Iron Man and the anti-war protest song War Pigs – its unmistakeable riff inspiring the Arctic Monkeys’ 2014 single, Arabella.

Black Sabbath went on to release six more albums with Osbourne at the helm before he was fired in 1979 due to his drinking and substance use, something he claimed was no better or worse than other members at the time.

In 1980, he returned with his debut solo album, Blizzard Of Oz, and the lead single Crazy Train. As a solo artist, he went on to release 13 studio albums – the last being Patient Number 9, in 2022 – and had hits with songs including Mr Crowley, Diary Of A Madman, No More Tears, Bark At The Moon and Shot In The Dark.

His first UK number one was a re-recording of the Black Sabbath ballad Changes, as a duet with his daughter, Kelly, in 2003, and his collaborations over the years included everyone from Alice Cooper (Hey Stoopid in 1991) and Post Malone (Take What You Want in 2019) to, in a somewhat unusual move, Hollywood star Kim Basinger for a re-recording of the dance hit Shake Your Head by Was (Not Was) in 1992.

With Black Sabbath and as a solo star, he is estimated to have sold 100 million records throughout his career – for context, this is reportedly on a par with Sir Paul McCartney’s solo sales – so the numbers speak for themselves.

Biting the bat

Osbourne was also a huge personality and played up to his hellraising image – the Prince of Darkness.

The most famous Ozzy story goes like this.

The singer was on stage in Des Moines, Iowa, 1982, when the bat appeared. He assumed it was a toy. So, like any good hellraiser would do, he bit its head off.

For more than 40 years, he found himself jokily fielding questions about bats. What do they taste like? (Salty). What happened afterwards? (Headline news, painful rabies shots). Do you have any pets? (Yes. They’re all dead).
“I get a lot of weird people at my concerts,” he told David Letterman in 1982, of how the animal came to appear in front of him. “It’s rock ‘n’ roll, y’know”.

He was sometimes irritated by the bat connection. But he also played up to the image, recounting the story in interviews, offering plush bat toys among his merch, and appearing as himself, biting a bat, in the 2000 Adam Sandler comedy Little Nicky, about the son of Satan.

Known for catapulting raw meat at fans during gigs, there were plenty of other tales of darkness and debauchery. Osbourne’s wild persona and on-stage theatrics always went hand-in-hand with the music.

From Prince of Darkness to reality TV

He was famously managed by his wife, Sharon, whom he first met when her dad, Don Arden, was managing Black Sabbath. As well as the music, Sharon and Ozzy together founded the Ozzfest festival tours in 1996 – and in 2002 came his second act.

It’s hard to imagine it now, but before the perfectly coiffed Kardashians it was a scruffy 50-something rocker from Birmingham and his family who ruled the Hollywood reality TV scene. As with his music, he was a pioneer – this time round of a new era of addictive viewing.

The Osbournes followed the lives of Ozzy and Sharon and two of their children, Kelly and Jack (their eldest daughter, Aimee, famously had nothing to do with the show), and the family fallouts and sunny California culture clash proved to be a ratings winner. The MTV series catapulted the metal star to global mainstream celebrity heights.

His marriage to Sharon was tumultuous but the pair always stayed together, and they renewed their wedding vows in 2017. Sharon was the driving force behind Ozzy’s successes, to him eventually getting clean, and behind his farewell show.

Despite weathering the storm of drink and drug use, Osbourne’s air of indestructibility was challenged when a quad bike accident left him with a broken collar bone and ribs, as well as short-term memory loss, in 2003.

The 2020 documentary Biography: The Nine Lives Of Ozzy Osbourne, had summed up with its title the performer’s seeming ability to defy the odds. However, the health problems started to mount up. Scheduled tours were postponed, and in 2023 he told fans holding on to tickets that he had come to the realisation he was “not physically capable” of dealing with life on the road.

But there was one gig he couldn’t miss – a surprise appearance to close the Commonwealth Games in his home city in 2022, just weeks after undergoing surgery.

Now, fans will remember the shows they did get to see, the music that ushered in a new genre – and especially his most recent gig, which was said to have raised around £140m for charities. Just a few days afterwards, his new memoir, Last Rites, was announced. It will be released in October.

During his career, Osbourne was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame and the US Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame – twice for both, with Black Sabbath and as a solo artist. “Countless artists from many genres have credited Ozzy as a major influence, including Metallica, Lita Ford, Rage Against The Machine, and Busta Rhymes,” reads his US citation. “With his longevity, impact, and iconic persona, Ozzy Osbourne is a phenomenon unlike any other.”

He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame – as well as in Birmingham’s Broad Street – an Ivor Novello, and five Grammy wins from 12 nominations.

But other honours, such as the NME’s Godlike Genius award, and Classic Rock’s Living Legend, also give a sense of how much his personality played a part in why he is so beloved by fans and critics alike. In the Nine Lives documentary, daughter Kelly describes him as “the most irresistible mad man you will ever meet in your life”.

Osbourne’s was an unlikely journey from Birmingham to LA. He was a working-class hero of heavy metal, a reality TV favourite – forever the Prince of Darkness.

“People say to me, if you could do it all again, knowing what you know now, would you change anything?” he once said. “I’m like, f*** no… If I’d done normal, sensible things, I wouldn’t be Ozzy.”

UK

Conservative Senedd member Laura Anne Jones announces defection to Reform UK

Published

15 hours ago

July 22, 2025

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Conservative Senedd member Laura Anne Jones announces defection to Reform UK

Conservative Senedd member Laura Anne Jones has joined Reform UK, the party has announced.

The announcement of the party’s first member of the Senedd was made on Tuesday at the Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells, Powys.

The annual event is Europe’s largest agricultural show and attracts thousands of visitors every year.

Laura Anne Jones was initially a member of the Senedd for the South Wales East region between 2003 and 2007, before returning in 2020.

She is the second high-profile defection from the Conservative party, after former cabinet minister David Jones joined the party earlier this month.

Reform leader Nigel Farage said the latest defection was a “big step forward for Reform UK in Wales”.

Speaking at the news conference, Ms Jones said she had been a member of the Conservative party for for 31 years but that the party was now “unrecognisable to [her]”.

She said the Conservative Party “wasn’t the party that [she] joined over three decades ago” and that she could “no longer justify” party policy on the doorstep.

Ms Jones said Wales was “a complete mess” and that she now wanted to be “part of the solution not the problem”.

Reform is still without a leader in Wales, but Ms Jones did not rule herself out of the running for that position.

The defection comes with less than a year to go until the Senedd election, when voters in Wales will elect 96 members to the Welsh parliament for the first time – an increase of more than 50%.

Recent opinion polls have shown Reform UK and Plaid Cymru vying for pole position, with Labour in third and the Conservatives in fourth.

Ms Jones said she had not notified the Conservative Party of her defection before the announcement.

The party’s Senedd leader Darren Millar said he was “disappointed” with the announcement and that Conservative members and voters would feel “very let down by her announcement”.

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