Train drivers have voted overwhelmingly to accept a multi-year pay deal, ending a two-year dispute at 16 rail companies, their union ASLEF has announced.

Members voted by 96% in favour of the pay rise, which is worth 15% over three years, the organisation said.

The offer was made by the new Labour Government within weeks of the party winning the general election.

It ends what ASLEF called the longest train drivers’ strike in recent history, during which staff took 18 days of industrial action.

Mick Whelan, ASLEF’s general secretary, said: “It is with great pleasure that we can announce the end of the longest train drivers’ strike in history.

“The strength and resilience and determination shown by train drivers to protect their hard-won and paid-for terms and conditions against the political piracy of an inept and destructive Tory government has prevailed.”

ASLEF had accused the previous Conservative government of “sitting on its hands” and refusing to negotiate, prolonging the length of the strikes.

Mr Whelan said it was “not a fight we sought or wanted”, but after five years without a pay rise and “working for private companies who declared millions of pounds in profits and dividends to shareholders”, drivers needed a “dent in the cost of living”.

He thanked the new transport secretary Louise Haigh for “entering the room” and finding an “equitable way forward”, saying that now trains will run in the interest of the passenger and taxpayer.

He also hit out a people conflating the recent bout of public sector pay rises with Labour’s decision to cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners, saying they should “be ashamed”.

“Now we will get back to our day job of seeking a green, well-invested, vertically-integrated and safe public railway,” his statement concluded.

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Nick Read is to end his torrid tenure as chief executive of the Post Office as he prepares to give evidence to the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal.

Sky News has learnt that Mr Read, who took over five years ago, has decided to resign from the government-owned company.

He initially stepped back temporarily from the post to focus on his evidence to the inquiry into the IT debacle that affected hundreds of sub-postmasters.

In a statement confirming his departure after Sky News reported that it was imminent, Mr Read said: “It has been a great privilege to work with colleagues and Postmasters during the past five years in what has been an extraordinarily challenging time for the business and for Postmasters.

“There remains much to be done for this great UK institution but the journey to reset the relationship with Postmasters is well underway and our work to support justice and redress for Postmasters will continue.”

Mr Read had been criticised for his leadership of the Post Office for some time, having been accused of being fixated with his pay package by its former chairman, Henry Staunton.

Mr Staunton was sacked earlier this year by the then business secretary, Kemi Badenoch.

Nigel Railton, a former Camelot executive, was installed as Mr Staunton’s successor.

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Under his leadership, Mr Read had raised the idea of handing partial ownership to Post Office workers, although little progress has been made on such a scheme because of the company’s financial travails.

Mr Read will leave the Post Office next March, and his duties will be assumed while he focuses on the Horizon inquiry by Neil Brocklehurst, the company’s interim chief operating officer.

The outgoing chief executive will be paid during his notice period but will not receive any additional payoff, according to a government source.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business and Trade declined to comment.

There’s been no change in the rate of price rises, official inflation figures showed.

The rate of inflation stood at 2.2% in August, the Office for National Statistics said, the same as a month earlier.

The announcement comes the day before interest rate setters at the Bank of England decide on the cost of borrowing, controlled through the interest rate.

Markets are expecting only a 26% chance of an interest rate cut.

Rises behind the headline figure

But another measure of inflation ticked unexpectedly up. Core inflation rose to 3.6%, even higher than economists had forecast.

Bank officials closely watch core inflation as it gives a reading on price rises without elements like food and energy, which are prone to rise and fall quickly.

A rise in core inflation to 3.5% had been anticipated.

An increase was also seen in services inflation, which rose from 5.2% in July to 5.6% in August. This measure encompasses the culture and hospitality sectors.

Why?

The main item acting to bring up inflation was airfares to European destinations, which showed a large rise during the months, following a fall a year ago, the ONS said.

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Lower restaurant and hotel costs, and a cheaper price for refilling a tank of petrol or diesel, was a balance against the air far rise, as was slightly cheaper shop-bought alcohol.

Cheaper oil prices also meant the cost of raw materials was down, which meant the cost of goods leaving factories slowed.

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Responding to the figures chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, said: “Years of sky-high inflation have taken their toll, and prices are still much higher than four years ago.

“So, while more manageable inflation is welcome, we know that millions of families across Britain are struggling, which is why we are determined to fix the foundations of our economy so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.”