The Debate: should Andy Burnham have made a woman his Chancellor? July 22, 2026 Rachel Reeves was proud to be Britain’s first female Chancellor but the Labour party have still never had a female leader. So should Burnham have put a woman in the finance brief? Two writers go head to head… Yes: economic leadership should reflect the economy it serves Labour doesn’t need a female Chancellor simply for [...]
Manchester was Burnham’s rehearsal – now get ready to pay the bill July 22, 2026 Burnham has asked to be judged on Manchester – where his record is more spending, more borrowing and higher taxes, says Gareth Davies Andy Burnham walks into Downing Street with a simple pitch: judge me on Manchester. I am happy to take him up on it. Start with tax. In 2018, Mr Burnham created a [...]
Housebuilders urge Rayner to ‘hit the ground running’ and rip up planning red tape July 22, 2026 Housebuilders have called on Angela Rayner to “hit the ground running” and rip up planning red tape after her surprise comeback as housing secretary. Rayner resigned as housing secretary in September over an investigation into her tax affairs but was cleared of wrongdoing in March this year. Leading housebuilding figures told Morning Wire they welcomed [...]
Tax rises ‘guaranteed’ as Healey faces £22bn black hole from Burnham spending plans July 22, 2026 Chancellor John Healey will be forced to launch another round of major tax rises in the autumn, leading economists have warned, after a Morning Wire analysis found £22bn of spending pledges are not accounted for in official forecasts. Less than 24 hours after becoming Prime Minister, Andy Burnham has already announced plans to end rough [...]
Can the City make friends with Healey? July 22, 2026 For the second time in history, the Labour party has recruited a former defence secretary by the name of Healey to become chancellor. The first, Denis Healey, ended up going cap-in-hand to the IMF for a bailout in 1976 after the UK endured rocketing inflation, soaring borrowing and surging unemployment. So the bar has been [...]
Healey challenges Cabinet to find cuts July 21, 2026 Chancellor John Healey has challenged Cabinet ministers to find savings in budgets hours after Andy Burnham was criticised for making an “unfunded” tax cut. In the first meeting between Cabinet ministers under Burnham’s government, Healey urged ministers to “look harder” at spending priorities across departments. Burnham also urged ministers to consider “how we are going [...]
Brazen Burnham should call an election and put his ten year plan to the voters July 21, 2026 Plenty of people were staring at their phones outside the Calais terminal of the Eurotunnel on Monday afternoon, but I sensed I was the only one watching Andy Burnham’s Downing Street address. We left for France under one Prime Minister and came back under another. That’s just how it is these days. My first reaction [...]
‘Fantastic news’ as Burnham brings Britain’s AI minister into Cabinet July 21, 2026 Andy Burnham has promoted Kanishka Narayan to a Cabinet position as Britain’s AI minister as part of his first major government reshuffle, handing artificial intelligence its first dedicated seat at the Cabinet table. Narayan will attend Cabinet for the first time after surviving Burnham’s sweeping reshuffle, which saw several senior ministers leave government and the [...]
What should sport expect from Andy Burnham and Lisa Nandy? July 21, 2026 There’s an Evertonian in Downing Street, a Toffee looking to unstick what he calls “40 years of neoliberalism”. But in doing so Andy Burnham has left his constituent buddy and long-term ally Lisa Nandy at DCMS, with the “digital” brief dropped in 2023 returning to 100 Parliament Street. Some in Westminster believe Nandy, a Wigan [...]
Burnham can prove he’s pro-business by scrapping stamp duty on shares July 21, 2026 London’s decline as a financial capital isn’t inevitable. By scrapping stamp duty om shares – a tax that investors in America, China and India simply do not pay – Andy Burnham can turn the City around, says Tom Willerton-Gartside London is being overtaken. Once the undisputed financial capital of the richest country in the world, [...]