Rolls-Royce shares rise as Burnham pledges investment in British defence Politics Shares in London-listed defence firms including Rolls-Royce and Babcock rose on Thursday morning after Prime Minister-to-be Andy Burnham pledged to drive investment into Britain’s defence industry. The Makerfield MP said strengthening Britain’s defence will be his “first priority” if he enters Number 10 – as he is expected to later this month – but insisted [...]
If Burnham wants growth he’ll have to save the City Business Quite the roll call: Beazley, Tate & Lyle, Intertek, Schroders, easyjet. Companies abandon their public listing for their own reasons but the cumulative impact cannot be ignored and, given the dearth of any substantial new entrants, it cannot be dismissed as the healthy churn of dynamic capital markets. Far from it. A typically punchy note [...]
Investor visa proposed by Labour-aligned think tank Politics Investor visas should be offered to 100 applicants each year, who would offer £3m in an upfront cash injection in return for residency rights in the UK, a think tank favoured by Labour has said. The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), which has had a number of policy recommendations adopted by Labour, said the [...]
Exclusive: Government to reject Reform’s offer to cover Farage by-election cost July 8, 2026 The government is set to reject Reform UK’s offer to cover the cost of the upcoming Clacton by-election to be contested by Nigel Farage, City PM understands, in a move that could leave the taxpayer facing a bill of more than £200,000. After Nigel Farage announced he would stand again for election in Clacton to [...]
Voters expect Burnham to hike taxes July 8, 2026 Taxes will rise to even higher levels under Andy Burnham’s government as the likely-incoming Prime Minister ramps up spending on council housing and public services, voters have predicted. City PM/Freshwater polling has shown that more than half of voters expect taxes to increase under Burnham’s government regardless of which Labour figure takes over from Rachel [...]
‘If you find yourself stuck in politics, the thing to do is start a fight’ July 8, 2026 In the great work of historical fiction, Imperium, Robert Harris imagines the Roman statesman Cicero observing that “if you find yourself stuck in politics, the thing to do is start a fight.” Clacton may be a far cry from the ancient senate in Rome, but Nigel Farage has followed the playbook. Facing a parliamentary standards [...]
Farage quits to stand in ‘people versus establishment’ by-election July 7, 2026 Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has announced that he will resign as an MP and stand again as a candidate in an upcoming Clacton by-election as part of what he dubbed a battle of “people versus establishment”. In a video statement where he repeatedly attacked Sky News and The Times and Sunday Times for “harassing” [...]
Burnham’s encounter with political and economic reality will be brutal when it comes July 7, 2026 This is turning out to be a very strange summer indeed, and I’m not referring to the football. This week, a Prime Minister with no power will attend the NATO summit in Ankara and next week, a Chancellor with just days left in the job will tell a City crowd at the Mansion House banquet [...]
Brits say Burnham should call an election July 7, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer is set to leave Downing Street on 20 July and a majority of Brits believe Andy Burnham should call a snap election when he takes over. Nearly two thirds of voters (65 per cent) believe a new Prime Minister should call an immediate general election as opposed to 29 per cent who [...]
Burnham told to launch £100bn tax reform package July 6, 2026 Andy Burnham has been urged to introduce sweeping tax reforms that could generate over £100bn in extra government revenue by a group of influential economists, which includes his own heavyweight adviser Jim O’Neill. A letter signed by O’Neill, who was formerly a Treasury minister and Goldman Sachs executive, urged the next Prime Minister to introduce [...]
