What if Andy Burnham had become Labour leader in 2015? Opinion On his third try, Andy Burnham looks all but certain to become Labour leader. But what if he had taken the reins of the party eleven years earlier? Matt Kenyon imagines an alternative timeline… 2015 It’s a world that looks a lot like our own. There’s just one, seemingly minor, difference: A cluster of well-meaning [...]
House prices will fall by two per cent this year – the most since the financial crisis Property House prices will fall by two per cent for the first time since the financial crisis this year, according to Savills, which warned mortgage hikes as a result of the Iran war had “fundamentally changed the outlook for the housing market”. The property giant was forced to revise down its property price forecast for 2026 [...]
Palantir ‘should challenge Sadiq Khan in court’ over blocked Met Police contract Legal American tech firm Palantir should challenge Sadiq Khan in court after the London mayor blocked a £50m contract with the Metropolitan Police, former government legal officer Sir Michael Ellis has said. Sir Michael Ellis KC, a former Tory attorney general under Liz Truss, said Khan’s decision is “an extraordinary intervention, which may be susceptible to [...]
Labour MP: Bond markets ‘will have to fall into line’ with Burnham agenda May 12, 2026 Bond markets will have to fall in line with an Andy Burnham premiership even if the Manchester mayor pursues a considerably more left-leaning economic platform, a Labour MP has claimed. Paula Barker, the Labour member for Liverpool Wavertree, hailed Burnham as a “fantastic politician” who is the only person likely to beat Keir Starmer in [...]
London Local Elections 2026: Who will win in Greenwich? May 6, 2026 CLICK HERE to view all the latest London election results As voters head to the polls in Greenwich, the Labour stronghold is set to see a rise in Green support amidst a hike in council tax and a cut in central government funding of the local authority. Back in 2022 Labour secured an overwhelming majority [...]
Government borrowing costs soar as Iran war drags on April 28, 2026 The government’s borrowing costs have risen to their joint highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, after a sharp jump in the oil price prompted a sell-off in UK debt because of concerns over inflation. The yield on the 10-year gilt – the main benchmark for any government’s long-term ability to borrow – climbed back [...]
Bond traders: Bank of England gilt shake-up would ‘concentrate risks’ in market meltdown April 2, 2026 Bank of England plans to reduce the bond market’s vulnerability to a Liz Truss-style crash would fail to improve financial stability and could make stress points worse, according to gilt traders and hedge funds polled by the Bank. Responses to the central bank’s plans to overhaul its regulation of the gilt repo market showed market [...]
Is Rachel Reeves actually to blame for the ‘Truss crash’? March 26, 2026 After years of blaming the 'Truss crash' on tax cuts, Rachel Reeves has finally gestured to the real problem – her own instinct to overspend, writes Tom Harwood.
Government borrowing costs set for worst month since Liz Truss March 23, 2026 The government’s short-term borrowing costs were on course to have their worst month since Liz Truss’s ignominious mini-Budget, until the news of United States’ talks with Iran led traders to unwind bets future interest rate hikes. The two-year gilt yield jumped by eight basis points on Monday morning, meaning the interest rate on the government’s [...]
Energy bills bailout speculation sparks bond sell-off fears March 17, 2026 An unfunded government intervention to subsidise household energy bills would trigger a gilt market rout likely to push the UK’s long-term borrowing costs to the highest they have been since 1997, bond investors and economists have warned. David Zahn, head of European fixed income at Franklin Templeton, told City PM that the prospect of ministers [...]
