Forget Burnham, what will Starmer do next? July 16, 2026 The end of a premiership means finding an epilogue, so what will Keir Starmer’s be, asks John Oxley Around the summer parties of Westminster, the key conversation is “What will Andy actually do?” The presumptive PM has always been something of a political enigma (or weathervane, depending on your perspective). He has been out of [...]
Retailers urge Burnham to slash tax and back youth employment July 16, 2026 Retailers have called on Andy Burnham to slash their taxes and help them to employ young people in a raft of demands for the Prime Minister-to-be. The British Retail Consortium (BRC), a trade body representing the UK’s biggest retailers, has urged Burnham to “buy into retail” as part of his pledge to back local communities [...]
Shabana Mahmood set to be named Chancellor by Burnham July 15, 2026 Shabana Mahmood is set to be named Chancellor by Andy Burnham next week when the former Manchester mayor takes the keys to Number 10, according to reports. The home secretary has now pipped Ed Miliband, Yvette Cooper and Wes Streeting to Rachel Reeves’ post, the Financial Times reported. A source told the paper: “Shabana is [...]
Burnham opens door to wealth tax July 15, 2026 Andy Burnham has refused to rule out a wealth tax as part of his economic agenda, saying the country needs a “greater sense of fairness”. In his first formal interview since being all but confirmed as the next Prime Minister, the former Manchester mayor warned that decisions on tax were “going to be difficult” and [...]
Brewdog owner shrugs off James Watt takeover bid July 15, 2026 The owner of Brewdog has insisted the company is “not for sale” after co-founder James Watt launched a dramatic takeover bid for the craft beer firm. Irwin Simon, boss of Brewdog’s US owner, Tilray, told Morning Wire he intends to retain the pub chain and brewery just hours after Watt said he had submitted a [...]
AI minister: UK sets sights on global AI leadership, not Silicon Valley emulation July 15, 2026 AI minister Kanishka Narayan said the UK must build enough domestic AI capability to “shape our own destiny” rather than rely on overseas tech giants as the government accelerates its push to develop sovereign AI infrastructure. Narayan told Morning Wire that AI had become “the defining currency” of geopolitical and economic power, arguing that the [...]
Finsbury lines up Games Workshop splurge using merger windfall July 15, 2026 Nick Train’s Finsbury Income and Growth fund is preparing to launch a spending spree on Games Workshop shares after pocketing a windfall from a string of acquisitions in its portfolio. The FTSE 250 investment trust – which can trace its roots back over a century – unveiled plans to use both debt and returns from [...]
Energy minister says AI must ‘bring down bills’ as data centres squeeze the grid July 15, 2026 Power-hungry data centres must help bring down bills rather than place further strain on Britain’s squeezed electricity network, the energy minister has said. Michael Shanks warned public support could drop for the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure unless households saw a clear economic benefit. “We need to deliver energy security here at home, but we [...]
Delicious Orie: The boxer who swapped sparring for spreadsheets July 15, 2026 When Delicious Orie took just four rounds to beat Milos Veletic in his professional boxing debut at the Co-op Live last April – just three years on from a Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham – you’d have been forgiven for thinking a long and illustrious, 20-bout career lay ahead of him. But the 29-year-old [...]
Motsepe backed to succeed Fifa’s Infantino by South African minister July 15, 2026 African football chief Patrice Motsepe has been backed to succeed Gianni Infantino as president of Fifa when the Swiss moves on from an anticipated third term in 2031. The South African minister for sport, Gayton McKenzie, said “I don’t know if there’s anybody that will disagree with his name” being in the hat to succeed [...]