To mark the 40th edition of the Turner Prize, this year the exhibition of shortlisted artists returns to its home at Tate Britain ahead of the December prizegiving, following six peripatetic years in the regions. If this is meant to strike a positive note for the beleaguered prize, it doesn’t. The shortlist avoids previous pitfalls around gender, ethnicity, and age, but it feels as if in its craven capitulation to inclusivity, it has selected artists based on their personal identities, not their art.
An immaculately balanced majority female shortlist, featuring a spread of cultural and ethnic backgrounds from across the country, with ages ranging from 38 to 65 means there’s precious little for anyone to get steamed up about, and where the politics of the prize is concerned that’s a good thing. But for the Prize to have value, the art needs to provoke (just imagine, back in the glory days of the YBAs, the prize was broadcast on TV and the triggered fulminating copy in the tabloid press). If the shortlist is a masterclass in diversity, the art itself is has a shocking case of tunnel visionand from Delaine Le Bas’s references to her Roma heritage to Claudette Johnson’s portraits of Black men and women, is wholly preoccupied with cultural identity, community and belonging.
It’s true that identity is a dominant theme in society at large, but in such anxious and challenging times for so many, and for so many reasons, this is a disgracefully narrow focus, that really negates the better moments here, compromising the entire presentation of Claudette Johnson, who is surely the stand-out winner.
Pio Abad’s pen and ink drawings each depict a Benin Bronze next to an arrangement of everyday objects (Photo: Tate Britain/PA)
The opening presentation by Manila-born Pio Abad (born in 1983) is a rather pompous protest against museum collections, specifically the holdings of Oxford institutions including the Pitt Rivers Museum and the Ashmolean, which hosted the exhibition for which Abad has been nominated. In an installation made by Abad in collaboration with jeweller Frances Wadsworth Jones, two bronze tiaras face each other, as if crowning the (absent) heads of a pair of sphinxes.The piece is simple – too simple, because it is entirely empty of meaning, requiring a lengthy explanatory text in which we learn that the tiaras refer to one worn by Gladys Deacon, the Duchess of Marlborough, whose likeness appears on two sphinxes at Blenheim Palace. Before Deacon, it had been confiscated from the Romanovs by the Bolsheviks; after Deacon, it found itself into the grubby hands of Imelda Marcos, the wife of the former dictator of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos.
In contrast, a series of pen and ink drawings, each one a depiction of a Benin Bronze next to an arrangement of everyday objects – plants, an anglepoise lamp, piles of books, a jar of Nutella – elegantly explores the layered significance of these notoriously looted objects, in Nigeria, in Britain, then and now. The point is subtle, precise and humorous – that the Benin Bronzes belong within a complex cultural matrix; that in being taken from their rightful place they are treated as meaningless knick-knacks, and so on, with many shades conveyed at once in trenchant images – no explanatory text required.
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Like Abad, Jasleen Kaur (born 1986),from Glasgow, who makes installations from found objects leans heavily on obscure, and mundane objects, which she imbues with nuanced cultural and personal meanings impossible to fathom without a guide. While Abad’s failures are matched by moments of triumph, the same cannot be said for Kaur, whose combined south Asian and Glaswegian heritage is vaguely evident in references to Irn-Bru and a soundtrack featuring Sufi devotional music interspersed with chart-toppers. An enormous fake Axminster carpet, and some gaudily dressed tables bearing motorised wooden hands, that periodically operate little brass “jingles”, begin to summon the atmosphere of a community hall, or, we are told, the vast prayer halls of the artist’s upbringing, but it’s a job half done, that leaves the viewer feeling alienated and confused.
There’s an undercurrent of violence in Jasleen Kaur’s scattered clothes (Photo: Keith Hunter/Tramway/Glasgow Life)
Perhaps this is deliberate – after all, there’s an undercurrent of violence and threat in the scattered clothes, and the photograph of men with bricks. But despite evidence of human presence – in photographs, music, and perplexingly a Ford Escort draped with a giant crocheted doily – the installation fails to spark empathy or even curiosity, its lack of visual articulacy more boring than stirring.
Making matters significantly worse for Kaur is the contrast between her inadequate offering, and the immersive epic that follows. While Kaurappears to havegiven scant thought to how best to communicate her ideas, Delaine Le Bas’s maximalist installation Incipit Vita Nova. Here Begins the New Life/A New Life Is Beginning grabs the viewer and very nearly won’t let go, with a production of filmic proportions, that occupies every available surface across three spaces.
A ghostly figure guards the entrance, wonderfully ethereal in white cloth, the details of her hands and hair sewn in black thread as if drawn in the air. The room is an extension of her, as if her essence infuses the space and the objects in her orbit. White fabric surfaces are spattered in black paint, drawn all over with compelling, nonsensical figures, of monkeys and naked women, and feverish workings out that – if this were a film – would indicate that we’d stepped through the plastic sheeting into the den of a deranged genius.
Delaine Le Bas’s work refers to the nomadic life that is a feature of the British Roma culture to which she belongs (Photo: Iris Ranzinger/Secession Vienna)
Tents are a motif – a reference to the nomadic life that is a feature of the British Roma culture to which the artist belongs – here containing a flower, once again made like a stitched sketch, and with something like a child’s stuffed toy mouse hanging in the background. Another tent-like opening leads into a second space, its walls covered in silver paper. The soundtrack, which in the first gallery blends rather confusingly with the preceding installation, becomes more insistent here, the sense of claustrophobia increased in a space made mysterious with its passageways and openings. Incidental objects recall the artist’s grandmother – “Nan” – with vases of flowers, the collapsed body of a hay-stuffed horse, red baby shoes, mutated into nightmarish versions of the trinkets that once sat in the old lady’s display cabinet.
It’s a journey through an underworld of grief, and death, mediated by family and tradition. But the narrative trajectory falters in the final space, where a return to fabric hangings, this time painted in bright colours, revisits motifs of tents and animal figures, with little sense of progression, so that the compelling nature of the previous spaces loses its hold.
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In Claudette Johnson’s self-portrait Protection (2024) she shares the canvas with a Makonde sculpture (Photo: Andy Keate/Hollybush Gardens)
After the excesses of Delaine Le Bas’s bizarre and fevered world, Claudette Johnson’s formally simple portraits of Black men and women offer some relief. Like Le Bas, Johnson knows how to pull in a viewer, and her portraits are irresistibly inviting, the artist herself turning to meet us in the self-portrait that greets us as we enter the space. Though selected from several important shows this year, notably at the Courtauld Gallery in London, her nomination honours a lifetime’s achievement. Though Johnson disputes the term portrait, aiming for something more experimental and unfettered by tradition, it’s hard to call them anything else, since they so vividly convey human, and specifically Black presence. It’s uncomfortable, seeing these portraits that make us acknowledge the enduring significance of skin colour, even now, and however much we might wish it were otherwise.
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The exhibition quotes the sociologist Stuart Hall, who said “The fact is ‘Black’ has never just been there”, an idea that Johnson makes explicit in her self-portrait Protection (2024), in which she shares the canvas with a Makonde sculpture. The sculpture refers to the influences that shaped Johnson’s work as part of the Black British Art Movement in the 1980s, but it also has a broader meaning, inviting us to consider the exoticising tendencies of painters like Gauguin, for whom such a sculpture was a marker of otherness.
The highlight here, and surely of the entire show is Johnson’s Pietà (2024), painted in pastel and oil paint on bark cloth, an ostentatiously “African” material that works to unleash a universal jolt of pain, as a mother holds the body of her dead son, presumably a victim of knife crime, that so disproportionately affects young Black men. Around the edges are words to stop your heart: “Every mother was called when he called for his mother.” There’s no question that Johnson must win, but how I wish she had some worthy competition.
Turner Prize 2024 is at Tate Britain 25 September to 16 February
The Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are illegally tracking Americans using cell-site simulators, Matthew Guariglia reported for the Electronic Frontier Foundation in March 2023. The devices, often referred to as “stingrays,” mimic cell phone towers, tricking cell phones in the vicinity to connect to the device rather than a tower and then collecting data from those phones.
Guariglia’s article drew on the findings of a redacted report, titled “Secret Service and ICE Did Not Always Adhere to Statute and Policies Governing Use of Cell-Site Simulators,” produced by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) in February 2023. According to the report, HSI and ICE used overly broad warrants to track “concerning people,” including the collection of financial information to determine if they have been sending money across international borders.
“The fact that government agencies are using these devices without the utmost consideration for the privacy and rights of individuals around them is alarming but not surprising,” Guariglia wrote, noting that government agencies such as HSI and ICE have “a dubious and troubling relationship with overbroad collection of private data on individuals.”
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Based on a search of ProQuest’s U.S. Major Dailies database, no major US daily newspapers appear to have covered the OIG’s February 2023 report on federal agencies’ failures to follow policies for use of cell-site simulators.
Source: Matthew Guariglia, “Report: ICE and the Secret Service Conducted Illegal Surveillance of Cell Phones,” Electronic Frontier Foundation, March 2, 2023.
Simply sign up to the Chinese economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.
A hastily convened, joint press conference with several Chinese economic officials on Tuesday unveiled a raft of stimulus measures designed to inject confidence back into China’s deflating economy. The blitz of interest rate cuts, funding for the stock market and support for the property sector amounts to the most aggressive economic package from the world’s second-largest economy since the Covid pandemic.
The shock and awe of it all excited investors. China’s CSI 300 share index jumped 4.3 per cent on Tuesday, its best day since July 2020. Global stocks also pushed higher. But what matters more for China and the global economy is whether the package can jump-start the substantive and sustainable boost to demand that the country desperately needs. By that measure, Beijing’s latest economic salvo does not go far enough.
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Starting with the monetary measures, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) announced a 50 basis point cut to banks’ required reserve ratios and made cuts to lending, mortgage and deposit rates. Together these measures should boost liquidity in the banking system and may support loan activity. Yet with businesses and households still eager to de-lever, as the fallout from China’s property market correction continues, a significant boost to loan demand would probably require heftier cuts to lending rates, particularly as real rates remain elevated as inflation has fallen.
Next, to revitalise its housing market — where prices are tumbling and sales are subdued — officials lowered the downpayment ratio for second homes. The PBoC also said it would provide better terms under a facility that lends to state-owned enterprises buying unsold inventory from property developers. Both amount to incremental improvements on existing policies that have, so far, had limited success in boosting sales. Reducing China’s vast stock of unsold housing is crucial to revive the economy, but economists reckon it warrants more subsidies or an effort to restructure debts in the sector.
Lastly, to revive its stock market, officials announced a Rmb500bn ($71bn) fund to help brokers, insurance companies and funds buy stocks. The PBoC will also provide funding to help companies conduct share buybacks. While markets responded positively, the measures can only be a temporary reprieve to more a fundamental problem: Chinese equity performance and investor confidence have been structurally weakened by Xi Jinping’s crackdown on tech firms and wealth creators.
The upshot is that Tuesday’s stimulus still fails to grapple with the reality of China’s economic challenge. Domestic demand is saddled by high precautionary saving rates and low confidence in the private sector. Beijing’s desire for export-led growth is also under pressure from the intensifying trade war with the US. The latest measures are poorly targeted for these problems, and may largely be a cosmetic effort to hit Beijing’s annual 5 per cent economic growth target.
What China needs is a targeted fiscal stimulus to raise demand and beat deflationary pressures. Households, particularly the poorest, need a boost. That means raising social security and healthcare support to ease the financial worries that encourage saving. Incentives to buy up unsold housing inventory and for business investment would help too. Then, to unleash the animal spirits of China’s investors and entrepreneurs, policy stability and deregulation is necessary. All this requires Beijing to overcome its hesitance to spend big and its desire to control the private sector.
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The stimulus is, at least, a step in the right direction. It is a sign that Chinese officials are waking up to the urgent need to re-energise its economy. But turning China’s slump around will require more money, a more focused policy response and an end to the rhetoric that has hurt investor and consumer confidence alike.
A MAJOR energy supplier has launched a market-leading energy-only fixed price tariff that is £149 cheaper than the price cap.
EDF’s “Essentials Fixed 1y Oct25” is £1,568 a year for a typical energy user paying by direct debit, making it £149 cheaper than the upcoming cap.
The average standard variable energy bill is set to rise by 10% to £1,717 on October 1 under the new price cap.
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The deal is available to new and existing who have a smart meter or agree to have one installed.
A fixed energy tariff charges customers the same rate for their gas and electricity each month until their contract ends.
This means you are locked into the price even if the cap goes up or down.
Read more on energy bills
In comparison, a standard variable tariff can go up or down according to the price cap which is set by Ofgem, the industry regulator.
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The price cap changes every three months and EDF predicts that it will hit £1,690 in January before falling back down to £1,676 between April and June.
The energy supplier said that locking into this deal will save customers £122 over the course of this winter.
But it is impossible to guarantee that this will be the case as there is a chance that the price cap may be higher or lower.
Meanwhile, due to volatility in the energy market, EDF may withdraw this deal at any time.
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Elise Melville, energy expert at Uswitch.com, said: “EDF’s new Essentials tariff could be a great option for households that want to fix their energy costs to beat the price rise coming on October 1.
How to cut energy costs and get help with FOUR key household bills
“It’s worth considering a fixed deal if you want to know what you’ll be paying from month to month.
There are several fixed deals on the market that can save you money compared with the price cap.”
How do other deals compare?
Octopus Energy is offering the next cheapest deal, at £1,599 a year for a dual fuel tariff.
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The “Octopus 15M Fixed September 2024 v3” deal is £118 cheaper than the current energy price cap and is available directly from Octopus Energy.
What energy bill help is available?
THERE’S a number of different ways to get help paying your energy bills if you’re struggling to get by.
If you fall into debt, you can always approach your supplier to see if they can put you on a repayment plan before putting you on a prepayment meter.
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This involves paying off what you owe in instalments over a set period.
If your supplier offers you a repayment plan you don’t think you can afford, speak to them again to see if you can negotiate a better deal.
But eligibility criteria varies depending on the supplier and the amount you can get depends on your financial circumstances.
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For example, British Gas or Scottish Gas customers struggling to pay their energy bills can get grants worth up to £2,000.
British Gas also offers help via its British Gas Energy Trust and Individuals Family Fund.
You don’t need to be a British Gas customer to apply for the second fund.
EDF, E.ON, Octopus Energy and Scottish Power all offer grants to struggling customers too.
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Thousands of vulnerable households are missing out on extra help and protections by not signing up to the Priority Services Register (PSR).
The service helps support vulnerable households, such as those who are elderly or ill, and some of the perks include being given advance warning of blackouts, free gas safety checks and extra support if you’re struggling.
Get in touch with your energy firm to see if you can apply.
Meanwhile, households which lock into the “Co-op 15M Fixed September 2024 v2” from Co-Op Energy could save £118 against the October price cap.
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The deal is also £1,599 a year.
How do I sign up?
Existing customers can sign up to the new tariff via the MyAccount tab on the EDF website.
Meanwhile, new customers can join EDF through its website.
But customers who sign up to this tariff will need to have a smart meter or agree to have one installed.
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A smart meter gives real-time information about your energy consumption, whereas traditional meters require you to manually take a reading.
There is no upfront cost to get a smart meter and you do not need to pay for the in-home display it comes with.
This tariff is a one year deal, which means that once you are locked in you will not be able to leave for 12 months without paying a fee.
If you want to leave before the contract ends then you may be charged an exit fee of around £25.
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At the moment this tariff works out to be £149 a year cheaper than the current price cap.
This is great if the price cap continues to rise as forecast as you would save even more money.
But if the price cap falls then you could end up paying more.
Before applying for this deal make sure to shop around to check that it is the best on offer for your family and budget.
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Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
THE government has promised to crackdown on fraudsters and get more people into work in a fresh shake up of the benefits system
Sir Keir Starmer pledged to “leave no stone unturned” as his government aims to “rebuild our public services” during his speech at the Labour Party conference today.
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The Prime Minister is also expected to unveil broader welfare reform plans to help cut the number of people claiming sickness benefits
New laws will be introduced so that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) can ask banks to report fraudulent activity, for instance if a claimant has more than £16,000 in savings, or how much they earn.
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Anyone with more than this in the bank is not usually entitled to means-tested benefits like Universal Credit.
DWP estimates show that 3.7% of benefit spending was overpaid last year, meaning the government now pays out over £9.5billion in benefits that people aren’t entitled to.
At the moment, the DWP can only request information from a claimant’s bank account if there are “reasonable grounds to suspect fraud.”
Instead, the new proposals aim to remove the bureaucracy and will require banks to flag exactly when a claimant’s earnings clash with the eligibility criteria of their benefits.
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Under the proposals, the DWP won’t be able to access bank accounts directly, and the exact information they can request is still to be confirmed.
The government department will also be handed more powers to recover debts from those who can afford to pay it back but have avoided doing so.
Labour also stressed that the Bill would contain safeguarding measures for vulnerable welfare claimants, and staff would be trained to the highest standards on the appropriate use of new powers.
The new Fraud, Error and Debt Bill will bring the changes into law, though a timescale has not been given.
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The Bill must pass through parliament and then into law, which can take months or even years.
How does work affect Universal Credit?
The Prime Minister said in his speech today: “If we want to maintain support for the welfare state, then we will legislate to stop benefit fraud. Do everything we can to tackle worklessness.
Broader welfare reforms are expected to help cut the number of people claiming sickness benefits like PIP and Universal Credit’s disability payments.
The government plans to launch a new initiative to encourage millions of benefit claimants to re-enter the workforce and bring down the amount it spends on welfare.
These claimants have undergone a work capability assessment (WCA), which decides whether they can work and are eligible for the free top-up.
Households falling into this bracket can claim up to £416.19 a month.
That’s on top of a standard allowance worth up to £617 a month.
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An additional 479,716 claimants have a limited capability for work (LCW), meaning they must prepare for future employment but remain out of the workforce.
It’s unclear how the government plans to reduce the number of claimants receiving disability payments.
The Labour Party previously said it wants to “review” Universal Credit.
The DWP hasn’t denied moving forward with a proposal to scrap WCAs and use PIP assessment for all disability benefit claims.
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Instead, LCWRA payments could be replaced by a new Universal Credit “Health Element”.
Any changes are anticipated to be unveiled later this year when Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers her Autumn Statement on Wednesday, October 30.
DISABILITY BENEFITS
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THERE are six main disability benefits in the UK. These are
Personal independence payment (PIP): A benefit for individuals aged 16 to 64 who have a long-term health condition or disability. It helps with the extra costs associated with living with a disability.
Disability living allowance (DLA): A benefit for children under 16 who have extra care or mobility needs due to a disability. Adults who were receiving DLA and were born before 8 April 1948 can also continue to receive it.
Attendance allowance: A benefit for people aged 65 or over who need help with personal care due to a physical or mental disability.
Employment and support allowance (ESA): A benefit for people who have a disability or health condition that affects how much they can work. It offers financial support if you’re unable to work and personalised help so that you can work if you’re able to.
Industrial injuries disablement benefit: A benefit for those who are disabled due to an accident at work or due to certain prescribed diseases caused by work.
Universal Credit: While not exclusively a disability benefit, Universal Credit includes elements for people with disabilities or health conditions that affect their ability to work.
Universal Credit is replacing DLA and income-based ESA claims.
BACK TO WORK
Rachel Reeves told The Sun in August that she wants to get more jobless Brits back into work as the £306 billion welfare bill is “out of control”.
Ms Reeves has vowed to crack down on benefits spending as the workless crisis puts the brakes on a booming economy.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, previously announced a “Back to Work Plan” to tackle economic inactivity back in July.
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Under the DWP’s plan, Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service will merge to help more people find work and support those seeking better opportunities with the means to find better-paid work.
However, the government is expected to go further when the Chancellor delivers her Autumn Statement next month.
BENEFIT EXPENDITURE
The government is forecast to spend £305.6billion on the social security system in Great Britain in the current financial year.
Total welfare spending is forecast to be 11% of GDP and 24.9% of the total amount the government spends in 2024 to 2025.
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Around 55% of social security expenditure goes to pensioners.
This includes spending on the State Pension which is forecast to be £138.1 billion in 2024 to 2025.
The government is expected to spend £138billion on working age and children welfare.
This includes spending on Universal Credit and its predecessors, and non-DWP welfare including child benefit.
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A further £89billion will be spent on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions, and £35.3billion on housing benefits.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
MORRISONS has revealed the exact date customers can book their Christmas deliver slot – here’s how you can get an early one.
Bagging yourself a slot during the festive period is notoriously difficult as it’s the busiest time of the year so you need to make a note of these key dates to make sure you aren’t left disappointed.
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Morrisons customers with a delivery pass will be able to book their Christmas slots from October 2Credit: Handout
As delivery slots are snapped up quickly, especially in the run up to Christmas, shoppers are advised not to hang about.
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Preparations for the holiday period seem to get underway earlier and earlier.
This year, the festive range will feature everything from the classic turkey, salmon, puddings, and whole range of starters and sides.
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Morrisons isn’t the only high street supermarket to have already tempted shoppers with its festive foods and many others, such as Tesco, M&S, Asda and Iceland have also released details of their products.
The news comes just days after Ocado announced its dates to book a Christmas delivery slot would be available.
Shoppers are being told to “look out” for an email or SMS which will alert them the day before they can book their festive delivery.
The retail giant will be making over one million home delivery and click-and-collect slots available on the week of December 20 to December 24.
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Non-Smart Pass Holders will have to wait a little longer for general access becomes available, which is usually the following week.
The retailer also detailed that slots over Christmas week have a minimum spend of £90.
To be the first to find out about early festive slots, you could sign up to a loyalty plan – these often give you early access but you should only sign up if you know you will save money on its benefit schemes.
We recommend you spend some time comparing online, by browsing Christmas menus and prices on the retailers’ website.
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You can also visit compare the market websites, which draw easy comparisons between product quality and prices.
Are the Christmas bits out earlier this year?
It often feels like Christmas decorations and products start appearing in stores earlier each year. Retailers typically begin to stock Christmas items well before the holiday season to capitalise on early shoppers and to extend the buying period. Here are a few reasons why it might seem like Christmas bits are out earlier this year:
Extended Shopping Season Retailers aim to extend the holiday shopping season to maximise sales. By putting out Christmas items earlier, they encourage people to start their holiday shopping sooner.
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Consumer Demand Some consumers prefer to plan and shop for Christmas well in advance, so stores cater to this demand by stocking holiday items earlier.
Marketing Strategy Early displays of Christmas items can create a festive atmosphere and build anticipation, encouraging people to get into the holiday spirit and start spending.
Competition Retailers compete to attract customers, and being the first to display holiday items can give them an edge.
Supply Chain Considerations Given recent disruptions in global supply chains, stores might be putting out Christmas items earlier to ensure they have enough stock and to spread out the demand over a longer period.
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Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
GRAB the felt-tips and paper – colouring in is not just for the kids.
Tapping into creativity, busting stress and aiding sleep are among the benefits of the arty activity for adults.
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Colouring in is not just for the kids – 4 savvy tips to enjoy the arty activityCredit: Getty Images
And a big budget isn’t necessary to get on board. Here’s what you’ll need.
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OVER AGE: There are patterns specifically for adults which are more intricate and detailed than ones you would give your kids.
The Works has books starting at £2 including mandala patterns, movie and television themes such as Stranger Things.
Colour-in canvases are currently half price at Hobbycraft, reduced from £6 to £3, meaning you can hang your work of art when it’s finished.
READ MORE MONEY SAVING TIPS
FREEBIES: You can download and print free patterns for colouring in. Plenty of patterns are available at Crayola.com, with specific adult designs.
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Or try Hobbycraft.co.uk with more than 100 designs available based on many different themes.
You can also use a black pen to adapt designs or add extra details. For example, try adding zigzags, spots or other patterns to background white areas. This way you can easily turn a child’s sheet into something more sophisticated.
PEN PALS: Darker nights and tumbling temperatures can make it harder to socialise without splashing out.
An evening of colouring in is a fun way to bring together a group of pals to unwind and catch up. Lay on a few snacks, but try to avoid anything that can spill on your pads!
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STEP UP: If you want to take your colouring up a gear, try learning extra skills.
Easy ways to slash your mobile bill
Blending and shading will give your picture depth and make the finished piece look more impressive.
There are plenty of free tutorials on YouTube or join online communities such as Facebook group Adult Colouring UK, to swap tips.
All prices on page correct at time of going to press. Deals and offers subject to availability.
Deal of the day
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Folding sofa bed, £185 at HomebaseCredit: Supplied
YOU can sit or snooze on this folding sofa bed, down from £265 to £185 at Homebase.
SAVE: £80
Cheap treat
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Brazilian knickers, £8, from Marks & SpencerCredit: Supplied
BRIGHTEN up your underwear drawer with this three-pack of Brazilian knickers, £8, from Marks & Spencer.
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What’s new?
COSTA’S new merchandise is a nod to maple hazel and all things autumn.
You can get a large reusable cup, £15, or smaller version, £12, plus a keyring for £4.95.
Top swap
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Sheepskin slippers, £49, from John LewisCredit: Supplied
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B&M’s similar mule slippers, for £8Credit: Supplied
KEEP toes toasty with these sheepskin slippers, £49, from John Lewis.
Or enjoy cosy feet – and a huge saving – with B&M’s similar mule slippers, for £8.
SAVE: £41
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Little helper
USING a meal planner each week will help you cut down on food waste and save some cash.
This one is £3 from Flying Tiger.
PLAY NOW TO WIN £200
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Join thousands of readers taking part in The Sun Raffle
JOIN thousands of readers taking part in The Sun Raffle.
Every month we’re giving away £100 to 250 lucky readers – whether you’re saving up or just in need of some extra cash, The Sun could have you covered.
Every Sun Savers code entered equals one Raffle ticket.
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