A decline in Santa’s salary, rising cost of turkeys and fewer presents under the tree: Is this the bleakest Christmas on record?
Santa Claus is coming to town – well, some of them are.
Because this year Santa could found in the job centre rather than a grotto, with 15% fewer jobs for the guy in red being advertised.
And in further bad news, Santa’s salary is also rising less than average, according to job website Indeed.com. So while the average wage has gone up 7%, the most famous inhabitant of the North Pole has seen his rise by just 4%.
And he is not alone in feeling the squeeze – it doesn’t matter whether you are on the naughty or nice list – this year is costing more for everyone.
Sky News investigates the state of the great British Christmas as the cost of living crisis hits harder than ever.
Santa Rob and Donna have set up a grotto at their animal park
A stand-in Santa
Competition is fierce for Santa roles, says Jack Kennedy – a senior economist at Indeed.com, with searches for this festive work reaching a six-year high.
“Lots of candidates are chasing fewer seasonal jobs this year,” he adds, attributing it to “cost of living pressures and caution among retail employers”.
Santa Rob – who for the rest of the year runs an animal rescue centre as Robert Baxter alongside his partner Donna Rose – found himself forced to don the big red coat and beard after he was unable to afford to pay a performer for his grotto.
“It’s my genuine calling in life,” he jokes. They have tried to keep costs low to enable lower-income families to visit.
Donna and Rob
Their business, Get To Know Animals, in Epping, houses 400 animals, many of which are exotic and require multiple heat lamps and specialist food. “The energy costs are absolutely extortionate,” says Donna.
“We struggled to get through the day and then we had the additional cost of building the grotto, but it just means so much to us that people who can’t afford it could come and meet Santa as well.”
Donna grows teary as she talks about the future of the company, which has suffered from a drop in donations and a decline in footfall: “We are not sure if we are going to make the new year.”
Donna with Goose the skunk
Turkeys are growing – and so is the cost
For Jonathan Smith, Christmas preparations start in the summer.
The second-generation farmer welcomes the 4,000-strong flock of day-old chicks to Great Garnett’s farm in Essex at the beginning of June and starts fattening them up for Christmas.
Five years ago, they would have produced around 8,000 turkeys in December, but a decline in foreign labour due to Brexit and the expensive costs of visas has forced the farm to dramatically reduce numbers.
Jonathan is chair of the National Farmers’ Union’s turkey group and says fattening them up is a lengthy process, fraught with the worry of a bird-flu outbreak at any moment – and the cost of living crisis has increased tensions.
Jonathan Smith, of Great Garnett’s farm
Because the cost of producing a 5.5kg (21lb) turkey (which is the weight they sell the most of and would feed about eight to ten people) has gone up by 21% in the last year.
Jonathan’s food bill, across the farm, used to average between £12,000 and 15,000 a month. It now stands at £30,000 due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine disrupting grain supplies around Europe.
Read more: How much more expensive is Christmas since inflation surged?
His energy contract, which six years ago was £3,000, in December 2022 reached £20,000 – something he expects to see again this year. And even though these higher prices may be being passed on to shoppers it isn’t dampening their demand for the festive bird.
“Turkeys are just a lot more expensive than they were,” he says. “But we aren’t seeing that reflected in sales – people just accept it and want it for their Christmas lunch.
“They want a special turkey and a special turkey is what we produce.”
But the farm has struggled with the rising cost of living
The cost of Christmas
However, the resilience of the turkey trade is not reflected elsewhere. Brits are predicted to buy fewer and cheaper Christmas presents this year.
One forecast by World Remit, the international money transfer firm, suggests that Brits will spend 10% less on Christmas this year. But even with everyone cutting back, WorldRemit says it is expected to cost 23% of the average monthly income.
It is particularly bad for households with children, with one in three struggling to afford a family festive celebration, according to debt charity StepChange.
Dad-of-nine Derrick, 34, says he has delayed paying some bills in a bid to make a magical Christmas for his family, and he and his wife have stopped heating their four-bedroom flat.
The DadsHouse team
“I know it’ll be a problem in January, but I am trying not to think about it,” the stay-at-home dad says. With children ranging from 18 to one still unborn, providing for them is no small task.
“Things have always been tight, but it’s definitely getting worse.”
Derrick is supported by DadsHouse, a charity that supports dads in London – although it was founded to help single dads, they welcome anyone in.
In their West London centre, six days before Christmas, a small team of dedicated volunteers are gathered together cooking lunch. Turkey is served alongside lentil soup and salad, while one young boy is given a plate of pasta. Tinsel and fairy lights adorn the ceiling and racks are filled with cans of soup – a foodbank for those who need it.
Billy McGranaghan founded the charity after raising his son alone but the pandemic and subsequent economic downturn has seen demand soar. What started as a way to help dads bond has expanded into a vibrant community hub, with a foodbank, home-cooked meals, homework clubs and guitar lessons.
DadsHouse also runs a Family Law Clinic, and Ceri Parker-Carruthers, the lawyer who manages it, says they are seeing increased family breakdowns inflicted by the economic crisis.
Billy receives up to 20 phone calls a day from people reaching out for help from him and his small team of dedicated volunteers.
Yet, despite the growing desperation of those around him, anyone who walks through their door is greeted with a cheery shout of ‘hello’ from the 60-year-old Scotsman. He is warm and friendly, remembering everyone’s names as he moves around the room, offering them coffee, tea, more turkey, more gravy, a hamper to take home.
Billy grows emotional as he talks about those the charity has helped this year.
“The increase we have seen is unbelievable,” he says. “But when they are here, we want to give them a chance to forget about the outside world for a bit.”
Billy McGranaghan and Patsy
Patsy, 68, doesn’t fit the label of ‘single dad’, but she is welcomed to the Christmas meal and sent away with a hamper of goods, the same as anyone else.
And like everyone else, she’s feeling the squeeze this year. “I’ve had to ask my family to chip in for Christmas dinner, it’s too expensive now,” she says.
A Christmas lifeline – or a road to more debt?
The continued popularity of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) schemes risks tipping millions of people into debt this Christmas. More than a quarter of Brits will use them to help with Christmas shopping. In some instances, it is almost as common as going into an overdraft – according to Citizen’s Advice.
The charity, who surveyed 2,132 people, has said it is braced to provide debt support in the new year, with some 28% of consumers (equivalent to 15.1 million people) planning to use the unregulated form of credit this December. This rises to 56% of parents with primary-school-aged children.
Citizens Advice, MoneySavingExpert and Which? recently teamed up to urge the Government to protect BNPL users after its commitment to regulating the industry in 2021 appeared to have stalled.
Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said many users do not realise they are taking on debt.
This is because BNPL lending does not require any affordability checks, unlike other credit options.
The charity found 21% of BNPL users have missed or made a late BNPL payment in the last 12 months, with one in 10 of this group visited by an enforcement agent or bailiff as a result.
‘There will be fewer presents – but more love’
Forest Churches Emergency Night Shelters is in its 15th year of providing winter shelter and food for those who are homeless in Waltham Forest and has seen the number of people seeking its help soaring in the last year.
Jessica* spent much of her 20s without a home but, after reaching “breaking point”, found herself at the shelter and is now a volunteer.
“I never could have known that in a year, my life would have done a complete 180,” she says. “I have gone from living somewhere to becoming homeless, to now being part of a community where I can give back.”
This small local shelter has 28 active cases, compared to 10 this time last year.
“I think this is potentially one of the worst Christmases we’ve had,” says David Hoskins, the group’s charity director.
“We simply don’t have enough beds for all of those people who are rough sleeping.”
And this is being echoed across the UK, as research from the charity Crisis revealed nearly a quarter of a million households are spending night after night couch surfing or in unsuitable temporary accommodation.
Beth from Newport found herself in a vicious cycle with housing costs after her rent began creeping up.
The single mum of two is studying at university in a bid to create a better life for her children after fleeing an abusive relationship.
“I want to be a good tenant, but being a good mum comes first, and it’s been years since paying the rent in full and on time – without having to think about it – was normal,” she said.
She now lives in fear of her energy being shut off, and it means for her children, aged 12 and 14, there is little chance of expensive gifts under the Christmas tree.
“My children have been understanding and told me they don’t need anything,” she says. “The guilt attached to wanting to and not being able to is the worst feeling of all.”
She said she takes comfort in knowing it’s not just her.
“Of all my Christmases, this is the bleakest so far, but there is comfort in knowing I am not the only one feeling that,” she says.
“I am very blessed to have my children with me on my Christmas morning, being in a house and being able to put the kettle on – that’s a privilege compared to some.
“It’s going to be full of love – less presents, but more love.”
* Names have been changed
UK
Greater Manchester Police makes ‘improvements’ in treatment of women including new rules on strip searches – but questions remain after Sky News investigation
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) says it has made wide-ranging changes to the treatment of women in custody, following a Sky News investigation.
This includes ending the use of police strip searches for “welfare” purposes and ensuring it is a “last resort” when looking for concealed items.
A Sky News investigation in 2023 into the custody practices of GMP led to an inquiry by former victims’ commissioner Dame Vera Baird.
In July 2024, the report found “horror stories” of police making “unlawful” arrests and unnecessary strip searches, sometimes to victims of domestic violence or sexual assault.
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From July 2023: Are women safe in custody?
A report today by the Greater Manchester mayor’s office welcomes the introduction of new measures including additional training for police officers dealing with domestic violence victims.
However, many victims are unconvinced. One such is Sophie, not her real name, telling her story for the first time.
She tells Sky News that even after the Baird Inquiry found her arrest was “unlawful” and the chief inspector called her treatment “appalling”, the police complaints department subsequently described the arrest as “acceptable”.
Sophie’s experience was investigated by Dame Vera alongside other women who Sky News spoke to last year.
She was arrested at 3am in the summer of 2022, and detained for 11 hours following a trivial complaint made by her ex-partner. Her accuser was designated by the police as a highly violent, domestic abuse perpetrator.
‘Sophie’ described her arrest as ‘an extension’ of her former partner’s ‘coercion’
Even so, Sophie was arrested at her home in the middle of the night after her abuser alleged she had broken his car wing mirror, 14 months previously, and that she had bruised his arms on an occasion when he had strangled her.
‘They knew what I was trying to protect myself from’
The man making the allegation was someone who had punched, strangled, pressed his thumbs into Sophie’s eyes and locked her up in the house.
Sophie told Sky News: “He’s got a history of domestic violence; he’s got a history of being incarcerated. They knew what I’d gone through, they knew what I was trying to protect myself from.
“I was in contact regularly with domestic violence support workers who were meeting with police liaison officers. They knew that I had the locks changed. They knew I had an alert on the house and my phone.”
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From August 2023: ‘I was gaslit, I was stonewalled,’ says Zayna Iman
Sophie describes the police arrest as “an extension of his coercion”. She later refused to accept a police caution and was charged with the offence of damaging a wing mirror before a judge threw the case out saying it was not in the public interest.
At a press conference in July this year, Dame Vera said: “I tell you ladies and gentlemen, if someone tried to strangle me, I’d probably bruise his arms as well.”
She said the arresting officers had “locked away their brains” and criticised the custody sergeant who had logged his justification for the arrest as “to protect a vulnerable person”, in reference to the violent man.
GMP Chief Constable Stephen Watson speaks to Sky’s Jason Farrell
A series of ‘failures’
At that time, GMP Chief Constable Stephen Watson said he was “appalled” by Sophie’s treatment.
He told Sky News: “It’s a systemic failure, a leadership failure, a process failure. I do think in individual circumstances it may be a failure of experience.”
And yet, one month after this, the police complaints department wrote to tell Sophie “there were sufficient grounds for your arrest”. The letter told her: “The service provided by the police was acceptable.”
Only after Sophie revealed that her case was part of the Baird Inquiry did the police retract these findings.
Read more on this story:
Woman claims ‘sex offenders are still serving as officers’
What has Greater Manchester Police learned from the Baird Review?
In a statement, GMP told Sky News: “The outcome Sophie was provided was incorrect. Having reviewed the handling of the complaint, our head of professional standards gave Sophie a personal apology and we are ensuring there is a full reinvestigation.
“Complaints relating to the Baird review – including Sophie’s – are subject to a fair and thorough examination, without fear or favour, by our Professional Standards Directorate.
“Where an investigation finds there to be a case to answer, we will ensure officers face disciplinary proceedings.
GMP headquarters located in Central Park in the Newton Heath area of Manchester
‘1,500 more domestic abuse survivors now getting justice’
“We are working hard to ensure that the people of Greater Manchester – particularly women and girls – can have confidence in their police force. This includes providing trauma-informed training for officers and getting better outcomes for victims – with 1,500 more domestic abuse survivors now getting justice compared to three years ago.
“Our communities can have confidence that the force is robust in maintaining good order and discipline. Those not fit to serve are being removed from GMP with more than 100 officers dismissed on the Chief Constable’s watch.”
However, Sky News has been told that most complaints relating to the Baird Inquiry are subject to ongoing investigation and, so far, no officers have been disciplined or dismissed.
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From July: Mark Dove says he was ‘left naked in cell for hours’
In response to the Baird Inquiry, GMP now has a dedicated female welfare officer in its custody suites and is soon to introduce a new independent oversight panel to scrutinise arrests.
According to the mayor’s office, 24 of the 26 recommendations from the inquiry have been implemented.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “This is a landmark moment in our quest to improve the safety and treatment of women across Greater Manchester.
“It is clear that there is still progress to be made. The deputy mayor and I will continue to hold up a mirror to unacceptable practices wherever we find them.”
Deputy mayor Kate Green added: “While the implementation of these recommendations to date is welcome, it is essential that the improvements brought about are maintained and indeed built upon, and on behalf of the mayor I will continue to scrutinise GMP as it makes progress in these areas.”
Read more from Sky News:
Murdered woman found in car boot named
‘Betrayed and angry’ farmers threaten action
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
However, Sophie feels let down and says if she was in an abusive relationship again, she would think twice about going to the police.
“I wouldn’t just be OK with reporting something now, I would look at the consequences of me doing that, and what could happen as a result of me doing that, and how they would treat me,” she said.
“It’s going to take me longer to get over what happened to me that night in being arrested and being locked up than getting over being slapped or punched.”
Former victims’ commissioner Dame Vera Baird and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham will be speaking to Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast from 7.30am this morning.
UK
Harshita Brella: International manhunt under way for husband after woman’s body found in car boot
An international manhunt is under way for the husband of a murdered woman, whose body was found in the boot of a car.
The body of Harshita Brella was found in east London on Thursday, tens of miles away from her home in Corby.
On Sunday, Northamptonshire Police said they were looking for Pankaj Lamba – who they believe has left the country.
Sky News understands she had been under the protection of a court order designed for victims of domestic abuse.
“Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba,” said chief inspector Paul Cash.
“We suspect Lamba transported Harshita’s body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car.”
“Fast track” enquires were made after the force was contacted on Wednesday by someone concerned about Ms Brella’s welfare. After she failed to answer the door at her home in Skegness Walk, Corby, a missing person investigation was launched.
Her body was found inside the boot of a vehicle on Brisbane Road, Ilford, in the early hours of Thursday morning.
A post mortem – conducted at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday – established she had been murdered.
Harshita Brella, 24, from Corby. Her body was found in a car in east London. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
More than 60 detectives are working on the case, with lines of enquiry including going house to house and property searches, as well as looking at CCTV and ANPR.
“We are of course continuing to appeal for any information that will help us piece together exactly what happened as we work to get justice for Harshita,” said chief inspector Cash.
“I urge anyone listening to or reading this statement, that if you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how small, please contact us. We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all.”
Pankaj Lamba. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
Force referred to police watchdog
On Saturday, Northamptonshire Police said it had made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct due to previous contact between the force and the victim.
Northamptonshire Police previously said officers had been conducting investigations at three locations: Skegness Walk and Sturton Walk in Corby and Brisbane Road, Ilford, where Ms Brella’s body was found.
East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU) and Northamptonshire Police said they were working “around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place”.
State-of-the-art technology has been used to create a voice for King Richard III – giving him a Yorkshire accent.
A digital avatar of the medieval king’s head went on display in front of excited history fans at York Theatre Royal.
Richard III was king of England from 1483 until his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, at the age of 32.
His remains were found in a car park in Leicester in 2012 by historian Philippa Langley.
Speaking about the recreation, she said: “We’ve got leading experts in their fields who have been working on this for 10 years and so everything has been meticulously researched, meticulously evidenced, so you are seeing the most accurate portrayal of Richard III”.
A team based at Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University created the avatar based on the reconstruction of Richard III’s head with the help of a craniofacial expert.
Experts from various fields helped put the pieces of the puzzle together, including speech and language therapy, dentistry, forensic psychology and archaeology.
His voice has been created by Professor David Crystal, a leading linguist in 15th-century pronunciation. He admitted that it’s impossible to know exactly how he spoke, but this is as close as they will get.
The king was born in Northampton but spent a lot of his life in Yorkshire. His parents were also from the north of England.
Vocal coach Yvonne Morley-Chisholm spent a decade researching how the monarch would have sounded. She worked with the actor Thomas Dennis who was chosen as his body and face were such a good physical match.
Speaking to Sky News, she said people will be shocked at how different he sounded compared with traditional portrayals of the king on stage and screen.
The coach and actor also examined the king’s letters and diary so that “as you pronounced a word that’s how you would write it”.
Read more from Sky News:
Frozen sabre-toothed kitten studied for first time
King to open two food distribution hubs to mark birthday
The voice shows the change in pronunciation over the centuries – from regional variations to the Queen’s English.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
History fans at the unveiling were delighted with the accent, with one telling Sky News: “Northerners are known to be happy, positive, all those lovely qualities.”
Born in Northampton but a northerner through and through, technology has brought the king’s speech back to life
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