In this week’s Weekend Essay, editor Tom Browne reflects on what lessons the media can learn from the US election results and the UK Budget.

From over-sensationalising political outcomes to the dangers of guessing in the absence of solid policies, Tom discusses how a more informed, sober approach is needed in today’s media landscape. Should the media focus less on polarisation and more on understanding voter behaviour?

CHRISTMAS is just around the corner and if you’re looking to stock up on Christmas chocolate tubs we’ve checked out the best offers around.

Everyone loves a sweet treat during the festive season and whether your preference is for Cadbury Heroes, Celebrations or a classic tub of Quality Street these are the cheapest prices.

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If you’re partial to a tub of Quality Street, both Aldi and Lidl are selling 600g tubs for £4.49 – making them the cheapest out there.

In comparison Sainsbury’s and Tesco are selling the chocolates for £4.50 for Nectar and Clubcard holders, while Asda has priced them at £6 individually, or £9 for two.

Morrisons is also pricing the tubs at £6, while Ocado is charging £5.

Quality Street was launched in 1936 and has been a favourite with families since.

The selection includes ‘the purple one’ which brings together hazelnut and caramel, the toffee finger, orange chocolate crunch, strawberry delight and ‘the green triangle’.

Cadbury Heroes lovers can also pick up 550g tubs for £4.50 from Sainsbury’s and Tesco if they are Nectar or Clubcard members.

Asda has Heroes tubs included in its two for £9 deal, meaning if you’re happy to double up you can pick them up at the supermarket for the same price as Tesco and Sainsbury’s shoppers.

Meanwhile, Aldi is selling the tubs for £4.99 and Morrisons for £6.

The Heroes selection includes Cadbury Dairy Milk, Twirl and Crunchie.

Celebrations are also available for £4.50 from Tesco for Clubcard members, or as part of Asda’s two for £9 deal.

Aldi is selling the tubs for £4.99, Sainsbury’s for £6 and Morrisons for £6.

The Celebrations selection includes Mars, Snickers, Twix, Bounty and Galaxy.

If you’re sharing chocolates with family this year and want to pick up a selection of tubs Asda’s two for £9 deal, which includes Quality Street, Cadbury Heroes, Celebrations, Cadbury Roses and a Swizzels assortment, may be the way to go.

Whatever you’re looking to stock up on ahead of Christmas make sure you shop around.

As we get closer to the big day shoppers can expect to see supermarkets offering more deals as they look to attract the lucrative festive spend.

Shoppers can check prices before they hit the supermarket aisles using comparison tools such as trolley.co.uk.

QUALITY STREET CHANGES FOR 2024

Customers discovered they can no longer visit their local John Lewis store to create personalised Quality Street tins this week.

The service had allowed shoppers to purchase a £17 tin with a personalised gift card and lid.

They could then fill these tins with their favourite Quality Street chocolates from dedicated pick-and-mix counter.

However, while the pick-and-mix counters still exist, shoppers can’t get a personalised Quality Street tin this winter.

Instead, they must opt for the £12 non-customised version.

However, Nestle did launch a new version of its 813g Quality Street tin in September.

The £12 tub features all the usual classic flavours and plays on Quality Street’s Halifax heritage – where it was first manufactured continues to be produced.

It can also be purchased empty and filled at any of John Lewis’ Quality Street pick and mix stations.

If you’re not fussed about the nostalgic tin or picking your chocolates, you’ll pay less for a different tub or packet.

This week, shoppers can pick up a plastic 600g tub from Lidl for £3.89 – 65p per 100g.

Nestle has also brought back a Quality Street fan-favourite for the second Christmas in a row.

The coffee creme flavour chocolate was last seen in Quality Street tubs over 20 years ago until the chocolatier reintroduced it last year.

The coffee-flavour fondant wrapped in dark chocolate has joined the 11 other Quality Street sweets at pick-and-mix stations across selected John Lewis stores in the UK.

They are also available in a limited-edition cracker at Waitrose and John Lewis stores for £5.50.

For the first time, Nestle has also launched paper tubs.

The tubs are available at 60 Tesco supermarkets.

Their introduction is part of a trial, and Nestle will gauge the product’s popularity among shoppers.

It claims the paper tub, adorned in the signature Quality Street purple, boasts a luxurious design and feel.

They feature a “re-close” mechanism that ensures the lid can be securely sealed even after opening.

This isn’t the first time Quality Street has introduced new packaging to make the festive favourites easier to recycle.

Nestle left shoppers outraged when it changed the Quality Street chocolate wrappers for the same reason in October 2022.

The iconic brightly coloured plastic and foil wrappers that had encased its famous chocolates for 86 years were replaced with a more understated form of waxed paper.

However, the introduction of new paper tubs does not signal the immediate discontinuation of plastic and metal Quality Street tins.

Shoppers can still buy 600g plastic tubs of Quality Street chocolates at most major supermarkets.

Tins containing over 800g of the festive chocolates continue to be available too.

How to save money on chocolate

We all love a bit of chocolate from now and then, but you don’t have to break the bank buying your favourite bar.

Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how to cut costs…

Go own brand – if you’re not too fussed about flavour and just want to supplant your chocolate cravings, you’ll save by going for the supermarket’s own brand bars.

Shop around – if you’ve spotted your favourite variety at the supermarket, make sure you check if it’s cheaper elsewhere.

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Websites like Trolley.co.uk let you compare prices on products across all the major chains to see if you’re getting the best deal.

Look out for yellow stickers – supermarket staff put yellow, and sometimes orange and red, stickers on to products to show they’ve been reduced.

They usually do this if the product is coming to the end of its best-before date or the packaging is slightly damaged.

Buy bigger bars – most of the time, but not always, chocolate is cheaper per 100g the larger the bar.

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So if you’ve got the appetite, and you were going to buy a hefty amount of chocolate anyway, you might as well go bigger.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

The results of this week’s US election will make sober reading for anyone who dreads the prospect of a Donald Trump second term.

At the time of writing, the Democrats have lost (or are on course to lose) the electoral college, the popular vote, all seven swing states and control of both Houses. All this to a convicted felon who tried to overturn the previous election and was assumed to be so toxic that no one would dream of voting for him.

There are many ways to describe this outcome, but “complete and total catastrophe” will probably do. In fact, the defeat is so comprehensive that it might force the Democrats (once they get over the shock) to ask the kind of difficult questions they have hitherto ignored. Failure can be very clarifying, if the right lessons are learned.

But if that’s true of political parties, it’s true of the media as well.

There was an interesting moment during The Rest is Politics live coverage of the US election. All the panellists, bar historian Dominic Sandbrook, predicted a Kamala Harris victory (in the case of former MP Rory Stewart, by a comfortable margin). This led to much handwringing as the scale of Trump’s victory became apparent.

A polarised, 24/7 media addicted to sensation and desperately chasing clicks is a media ill-served to do its job

Picking over the bones, main host Alastair Campbell reflected on his recent appearance on MSNBC:

“There was no real news being told. It was just endless ventilations of the same opinions about how awful Trump was, about how awful Vance was. And, of course, you go to the other side, you turn on Fox News, and they’re doing the opposite.

“I don’t see how we get to [a] sensible, rational, democratic debate if the media just become extensions of the players that the public are meant to be looking at to make a choice.”

In response, Sandbrook made a telling point:

“I think the one thing that people who are very interested in politics get wrong about politics, more than anything else, is that most ordinary people are not interested in politics. Do not follow it, do not care, do not understand, or do not care to understand…

“As far as I can tell from the exit polls, the single biggest issue for people was the issue that is almost always the single biggest issue in every election, which is the economy. Are you better off? And I think the inflation a couple of years ago clearly really hurt the Democrats, because Harris was tarnished by that. So all the things that we think should have destroyed Trump… a lot of people probably weren’t even aware of those things.”

This view of politics was pithily summarised by the Democrat strategist James Carville back in 1992: “It’s the economy, stupid.” It’s something that the financial sector knows only too well, since it can’t afford to get it wrong. So, why does the media need to relearn this lesson every election cycle?

To be fair, journalists are not fortune tellers, any more than pollsters, economists, financial advisers and all the other people trying to understand societal trends. Reading the minds of voters is an inexact science, to put it mildly.

But a polarised, 24/7 media addicted to sensation and desperately chasing clicks from what it perceives as its tribe is a media ill-served to do its job: getting at the underlying truth and making the world comprehensible, without fear or favour.

In the absence of solid policy announcements, guesswork ruled the day, much of it ill-informed and damaging

This isn’t just an American problem. While the fixed-term nature of US politics almost guarantees a drawn-out cycle filled with sound and fury, the same is not true (or doesn’t have to be true) of British politics. And yet, similar mistakes are replicated.

To cite a statistic you’ve probably heard hundreds of times, the 117-day gap between the UK election on 4 July and the Labour government’s first Budget on 30 October was the longest in over 50 years.

The delay was mainly due to odd electoral timing (thanks, Mr Sunak), the summer recess and a clear desire by the new government to thoroughly roll the pitch before delivering the tricky news (a £40bn tax hike, in case you missed it).

But whether by accident or design, it led to the most discussed, analysed and often misrepresented Budget in living memory.

Ever since chancellor Rachel Reeves stood up in the Commons and announced the discovery of a £22bn ‘black hole’ in the public finances (to well-rehearsed cries of “Shameful!” by the Labour frontbench), commentators were furiously speculating on the course this government might take.

That’s what commentators do, you might argue. But in the absence of solid policy announcements, guesswork ruled the day. And as Greg Neall pointed out earlier this week, much of it was ill-informed and frankly damaging.

The government plays its own part in this, of course. Indeed, there’s a conspiracy theory doing the rounds that Sir Keir Starmer and co deliberately stoked the negativity so that the actual Budget would look benign in comparison.

Clever politics, if so. But that won’t be any consolation to all those advisers who have spent two months fielding anxious calls from clients (such queries are up by 50% by some calculations). Or to those who might have taken rash decisions based on false evidence.

That’s what a quality media should be interrogating. There’s more ‘content’ out there than ever before, but most of it consists of hastily written opinion pieces that cost a lot less than proper journalism and have about a tenth of the value. Rather than enlighten, they largely exist to confirm our prejudices.

If we fail to understand voter behaviour, we’ll get the politicians we deserve

To return to America for a moment, when Donald Trump first emerged as a political force back in 2016, right-wing commentators started accusing his more forceful critics as suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS, as no one calls it).

This, the theory goes, is an irrational inflation of the threat Trump poses, based purely on a snobbish dislike of the guy. This blinds people to the true nature of his appeal.

I’m no Trump supporter, and I regard claims of ‘TDS’ as a dishonest attempt to deflect criticism of Trump’s many appalling traits. If anyone’s deranged, I’d argue, it certainly isn’t me.

However, if there’s any truth to the critique, it’s the way in which it’s led the media to prioritise outrage over a sober analysis of the economic issues that – as Sandbrook so eloquently puts it – drive voter behaviour. And if we fail to understand voter behaviour, we’ll get the politicians we deserve.

IF YOU’VE got a pair of old trainers in the back of your wardrobe then now is the time to check how much they could be worth.

This year several pairs of trainers have been sold for record-breaking prices as so-called “sneaker heads” race to get their hands on the collectable shoes.

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A pair of rare Nike trainers fetched £68,937 on one luxury resale website.

Meanwhile, a set of six Air Jordan trainers worn by Michael Jordan himself fetched £6.3million at auction in February.

While a pair you may have at home is unlikely to fetch that much, you could make several thousand pounds.

Trainers that have not been worn tend to increase in value the most, said Drew Haines, director of merchandising at trainer resale website StockX.

He said: “The resale value of coveted models tends to appreciate steadily over time when kept in a new and unworn condition with original packaging.

“One thing to also remember is that a large number of people purchase trainers to wear rather than to sell.”

This means that there is a lower number of trainers in circulation which can be sold to collectors or investors.

The brand of trainers is also important as not all types increase in value at the same pace.

The top most searched for trainer brands this summer were Adidas, New Balance, Sketchers, Nike and Converse, according to eBay.

If you have a pair from one of these brands then you could be in for a windfall.

Other lesser-known brands including On Running and HOKA have also become more popular, eBay said.

Keep an eye out for seasonal trends, which could increase how much you can sell a pair for.

For example, eBay saw running shoes gain popularity before marathon season.

Searches on eBay globally for “mesh runners”, a type of jogging shoe, were up 75% year-on-year in February.

Most popular trainers sold in the UK

Here are the most popular trainers sold in the UK on StockX this year:

• Air Jordan 1 Mid Light Smoke Grey – £99
• Nike Air Force 1 Low White 07 – £68
• Air Jordan 4 Retro Military Blue 2024 – £146
• Nike Air Max Plus 25th Anniversary – £125
• Air Jordan 4 Retro Bred Reimagined – £129

As more people want to buy this type of shoe, it could mean that you can put up your asking price.

What should I do if I have an expensive pair?

Regular maintenance is important to preserve the value of your rare shoes.

Invest in some specialised shoe cleaning products to keep them in top condition.

It’s also important to store your shoes carefully to prevent them from deteriorating.

Proper storage and keeping them away from harsh weather conditions will preserve their quality and resale value.

Keep them in a cool, dry place and away from direct sunlight to help avoid any discolouration or material degradation.

You can store them in their original box or invest in clear shoes boxes to help them stay in mint condition.

The shoe box itself is a large part of the resale value of a pair of trainers.

Never throw the box away and make sure that it does not get crumpled, damaged or discoloured.

How do I sell my trainers online?

First you should check to see how much similar pairs of trainers have sold for to assess how much yours could be worth.

Check several resale websites such as eBay, StockX, Depop and Vinted to see how much others have sold their pair for.

EBay has a function which allows you to search for the item you want to sell and then filter the results by sold items.

This will allow you to view the price the item has previously sold for and get an understanding of how much other people listed it for.

StockX has a price guide which shows the full price and past sales of different models of shoe.

Once you know how much your shoes are worth you can choose to sell them online or by auction.

If you sell your trainers through a resale website then you will need to create an account and set up a profile.

To do this you will need to go onto the website and enter a few basic details such as your name, mobile number and email.

Next you should take pictures of your trainers and their box.

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Make sure to take a photo of any damage or wear on the surface, sides and base of the shoe.

Go onto the manufacturer’s website and find a professional photo of the trainers.

This will help anyone interested in your shoes to visualise what they looked like when they were first bought.

Next upload your photos to the resale website and begin to build a listing for the shoes.

You will need to write a description of the item and should include the make, model and name of the trainers.

If you have any proof of the authenticity of the trainers then you should say that this can be provided.

You can prove that your trainers are genuine with a receipt, bank or credit card statement.

You may also be asked to complete a few questions on the condition, size, style, colour and type of shoe.

If you sell trainers using certain retail websites then they may need to authenticate the shoes before your buyer receives them.

For example, eBay has an authentication centre where items are physically inspected by experts before they are sent to the buyer or returned to a seller.

Items that have passed an authentication test will be marked with a blue tick.

How can I sell my trainers at auction?

If you have very valuable trainers then it could be worth selling them at auction to make sure you get as much as you can for them.

Specialist auctioneers including Sotheby’s and London Auctions will sell your trainers by auction, marketplace or private sale.

You do not need to live near the auctioneer to sell with them.

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To start the process contact the auctioneer and send them a photograph of your shoes.

A specialist will then review your submission and you should be sent a free estimate of how much the trainers could be worth.

If you agree to go ahead then the auctioneer will be able to guide you through the process of selling your trainers.

They may sell them one client, list them online or include them in an upcoming auction.

Selling an item through an auctioneer may mean that you have to pay other fees such as storage, commission and buyer’s premium costs. 

Check how much the fees are before you agree to a sale.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

Money Marketing’s Weekly Must-Reads: Top 10 Stories

This week, Tony Wickenden explores tax planning strategies in the wake of the recent Budget, and Mattioli Woods expands with its acquisition of Stockport-based Cullen Wealth. Discover more highlights below:



Tony Wickenden: Tax planning in the wake of the Budget

Mattioli Woods acquires Stockport-based Cullen Wealth  

Mattioli Woods has acquired Stockport-based Cullen Wealth, enhancing its presence in the Northwest and strengthening its wealth management and employee benefits services. This acquisition aligns with Mattioli Woods’ focus on serving mass affluent clients, business owners, professionals, and corporates. Deputy CEO Michael Wright praised Cullen Wealth’s dedication to client service, seeing the acquisition as a strategic fit for Mattioli Woods’ growth. Founder Richard Cullen expressed confidence that the partnership will drive innovation and expand offerings for their clients.

Rate of employer National Insurance contributions raised to 15%

In the Autumn Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced an increase in employer National Insurance contributions, raising the rate by 1.2 percentage points to 15% from April 2025. The secondary threshold will be lowered to £5,000, while the Employment Allowance will double to £10,500 to aid small businesses. These changes aim to generate £25 billion annually. Employers are advised to review their benefits and consider salary sacrifice schemes to offset rising NIC costs and better manage expenses.

Close Brothers and SEI sign platform tech deal

Close Brothers Asset Management (CBAM) has partnered with SEI to adopt the SEI Wealth Platform and SEI Data Cloud, aiming to strengthen its tech and data capabilities. This move supports CBAM’s strategic growth goals, enhancing services for wealth management professionals and clients. The partnership, chosen after a rigorous selection, also includes adopting Objectway’s Portfolio Management Solution and outsourcing order execution to Winterflood Business Services. SEI, which serves other major firms, welcomed CBAM’s commitment to integrated tech-driven expansion.

Reaction as Bank of England cuts base rate again

The Bank of England has cut the base rate by 0.25%, bringing it to 4.75%, with an 8:1 vote from its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Experts express mixed reactions, noting potential impacts on inflation and borrowing costs. Fidelity’s Ed Monk warns that while inflation is now below target, borrowing costs may not drop swiftly due to rising market interest rates. Hymans Robertson’s William Marshall and Hargreaves Lansdown’s Sarah Coles anticipate a cautious pace in future rate cuts due to inflation concerns.

Cover story: Trade Body 2.0 – Does the platform sector need a new voice?

Momodou Musa Touray, senior reporter, examines the need for a dedicated trade body for the platform sector in the UK with the newly launched Platforms Association. This group aims to unify the sector and address issues like regulatory compliance, platform requirements, and operational efficiencies. Despite support from several major platforms, the sector remains divided, with some preferring the UK Platform Group. The Platforms Association’s goal is to provide a unified voice, especially on regulatory matters, to support industry growth and stability.

Stamp duty on second homes rise to 5% from tomorrow

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a rise in the stamp duty surcharge on second homes and investment properties from 3% to 5%, effective from 31 October 2024. The move is part of the Autumn Budget, aiming to raise revenue while supporting first-time homebuyers. Industry responses include concerns from mortgage professionals about the impact on the buy-to-let market, with Zoopla’s Richard Donnell predicting reduced demand. ARLA Propertymark urges the government to support landlords amid the growing shortage of private rented homes.

Billy Burrows: New pensions IHT trap could fuel demand for annuities  

The 2024 Budget introduces a significant change to pensions, as unused pensions and death benefits will be subject to inheritance tax (IHT) from April 2027. This could shift the trend away from pension drawdown, which has been favoured for passing wealth, towards annuities. Annuities, particularly joint-life ones, offer secure, guaranteed income, and may become more appealing for those seeking to reduce pension fund values and provide peace of mind to surviving partners, helping to solve the “annuity puzzle” of low demand despite their efficiency. William Burrows runs the Annuity Project and is a financial adviser at Eadon & Co.

Leader: The CII and the PFS are at it again. Will this feud ever end?

Lois Vallely reports on the ongoing feud between the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and the Personal Finance Society (PFS), which continues to stir controversy. Recently, the CII appointed several of its executives to the PFS board, raising questions about governance and transparency. This move follows a long history of attempts by the CII to exert control over the PFS and its member funds, leading some to call for the PFS to separate or form an independent body.

Rachel Reeves announces 40% relief on business rates

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced a 40% business rates relief for the retail, hospitality, and leisure industries in 2025/26, capped at £110,000 per business. This is a reduction from the current 75% discount, which will expire in April 2025. The British Retail Consortium had called for a 20% cut, highlighting the sector’s disproportionate business tax burden. However, local councils depend heavily on business rates revenue, raising concerns about alternative funding to maintain local services. The relief is seen as a positive but insufficient solution.

K3 Advisory has completed a £2m annuity buy-in transaction with a pension scheme.

The deal, completed in July, secured the benefits of 16 pensioners and three deferred members.

The undisclosed pension scheme is within the mechanical and electrical industry.

Legal & General was the insurer to the scheme. Schroders, a strategic partner to K3, provided investment advisory services and Mills & Reeve acted as the Trustees’ legal advisors.

K3 Advisory, founded in 2018, is a specialist independent bulk annuity and consolidator advisory business.

The business, backed by the Vestey Holdings Group, provides trustees and scheme sponsors with advice and brokering services to secure a smooth and effective transfer of liabilities to an insurer or consolidation vehicle.

K3 Advisory senior actuarial consultant, John Mayer, said: “This transaction is a great example of how swift and efficient these exercises can be if schemes are prepared, and industry relationships and collaborations work well.

“It’s always pleasing to be able to deliver security for members of small schemes and this scheme was a brilliant example of this. A fantastic result all round.”