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UK companies revised marketing budgets up marginally as caution remains

Stuart Mitchell

After the uncertainty surrounding the Autumn Budget led firms to hit the pause button in the third quarter, the latest IPA Bellwether Report highlighted renewed marketing budget growth across the UK in the final three months of 2024. Over a fifth (21.7%) of panellists reported an increase in their total marketing budgets during the fourth quarter, which was higher than the almost 19.9% who made cuts, resulting in a net balance of +1.9% (up from 0.0% in Q3). This meant that upward revisions to advertising spend have been registered in…

More Than 150 Nobel And World Food Prize Laureates Issue Unprecedented Wake-Up Call Over Hunger Tipping Point

Stuart Mitchell

More than 150 Nobel and World Food Prize Laureates have made an unprecedented plea for financial and political backing to develop “moonshot” technologies with the greatest chance of averting a hunger catastrophe in the next 25 years. In an open letter signed by 133 winners of the Nobel Prize and World Food Prize, the signatories warned that the world was “not even close” to meeting future food needs, with an estimated 700 million people going hungry today and an additional 1.5 billion people to feed by 2050. The letter predicted…

‘Pesticides buzz off’: More than 1.6 million people call for a ban on bee-killing pesticides

Stuart Mitchell

A petition signed by more than 1.6 million people urging the government to enforce a total ban on bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides has been handed in to the Department of Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra) by environmental campaigners. The petition, which was coordinated by Greenpeace UK, has amassed a staggering 1,645,000 signatures from the British public and was delivered directly to Defra for the environment minister, Emma Hardy. It was delivered in the form of a bee hotel by campaigners dressed in ‘worker’ bee outfits carrying placards reading, ‘Pesticides Buzz…

Football legends kick off new charitable role

Stuart Mitchell

TWO of Scotland’s most recognisable football figures have been appointed as ambassadors for one of Scotland’s leading disability charities. Former football star and SFA Chief Executive, Gordon Smith, and ex-Rangers and Motherwell midfielder and Derby County manager, Billy Davies, will use their influence to champion Capability Scotland’s work across Scotland. Both ambassadors will play a key role in vital fundraising campaigns, aimed at raising funds to provide life-changing support for disabled people and their families. Speaking about his appointment, Gordon Smith said: “Capability Scotland is a charity I have admired…

International Women’s Day 2025 – For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment

Stuart Mitchell

On 8 March 2025, join UN Women to celebrate International Women’s Day under the theme, “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.” This year’s theme calls for action that can unlock equal rights, power and opportunities for all and a feminist future where no one is left behind. Central to this vision is empowering the next generation—youth, particularly young women and adolescent girls—as catalysts for lasting change. The year 2025 is a pivotal moment in the global pursuit of gender equality and women’s empowerment, as it marks the 30th anniversary…