Voice of the Mirror: Death of payday lender QuickQuid is not the last loan shark

Few will mourn the demise of the payday lender QuickQuid.

It joins Wonga and The Money Shop on the list of companies who have now thankfully closed their operations in Britain.

Regrettably, this business is still flourishing.

As we are reporting, there are firms targeting households with Christmas loans charging interest rates of 648%.

They are able to do this because of weak laws and institutional failings.

Banks have raised the drawbridge for many customers, denying them a source of affordable credit.

At the same time more people are forced to turn to irresponsible lenders because of falling wages, increased rents and the rise in insecure work.

They are exploited by greedy firms who put them on zero-hours contracts or shift work to avoid having to pay for pensions, holiday entitlement and sick pay – and then exploited again by greedy loan sharks charging three-figure interest rates.

This will only end if firms are made to offer decent pay and conditions and the banks do more to support the financially vulnerable.

Pork gets chop

Britain's pork industry has become the latest victim of Brexit.

The British Meat Processors Association is warning there could be a shortage of bacon this Christmas because of a fall in the number of seasonal workers from the EU.

The easy answer is for bosses to raise wages to attract more UK staff but that could render some farms unprofitable.

If we want to save our bacon we will have to rethink how the whole food industry operates.

Inspiring Motsi

Strictly’s Motsi Mabuse has spoken of how she struggled to fulfil her dream of becoming a dancer growing up in racially divided South Africa.

Her success is not just a personal triumph but a victory over the evil of apartheid.

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