内容摘要：Germany and France are the traditional engines of Europe's economic growth. But their

Germany and France are the traditional engines of Europe's economic growth. But their

Yet however upbeat she is a former Labour minister wonders: "How long will it take for changes to drip through the doorsteps of my constituency where people are living in crowded rented flats, and can't afford the supermarkets?"The pressure is on. One union leader calls this a "cross your fingers behind your back moment". Change takes time and the economy might need patience – but politics isn't always prepared to wait.

Lecturers at Robert Gordon University (RGU) in Aberdeen have gone on strike over redundancies.RGU announced in November that more redundancies could be made after 130 staff left through a voluntary severance scheme last year. It hopes there will be fewer than 60 further redundancies.Teaching union the EIS said its members had been left with "no other option" but to take strike action, vowing more strikes in May and September.

The university's principal said decisions were "difficult but necessary" as the sector faces extreme challenges.It comes amid industrial action at the University of Dundee over

, while there is also a ballot under way among staff at the University of Edinburgh.

Regan Kyle, who is a lecturer in International Fashion Business, said it was "important to support colleagues who are going through a bit of a tough time".The Gambling Commission tells us it “is investigating the possibility of offences concerning the date of the election. This is an ongoing investigation.”

We now know there was an unusual surge of betting on a July election just before Rishi Sunak confirmed just that.Data given to the BBC by Smarkets betting exchange shows odds shortened dramatically on the afternoon of the 21 May, the day before the election was announced.

Separately, a study of Betfair betting odds byfound several thousand pounds were wagered the day before the 22 May announcement.