As it happened: Stocks sink after Fed and Bank of England opt for hawkish hold; Oil price tumbles June 18, 2026 Welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Interest rates were left unchanged at 3.75 per cent in Bank of England’s monetary policy committee meeting today as rate-setters wait to find out whether the Iran war peace deal holds up. The Bank’s decision followed Thursday’s inflation data, which stayed below undershot expectations after coming at 2.8 [...]
LLPs remain under watchful eye – especially from the taxman June 18, 2026 Despite dodging Budget day taxes, the UK’s limited liability partnership (LLP) model is still facing intense scrutiny, this time from HMRC, which just had a good result from the top court this week, writes Maria Ward-Brennan. The LLP model, used by professional services such as law firms and accountancy firms, came into force 25 years [...]
City investors raise alarm on Burnham’s Chancellor pick June 18, 2026 Andy Burnham’s bid to return to parliament poses a risk to financial markets, City analysts have warned, as his next pick as Chancellor could heavily sway traders’ views. City analysts have said they will be closely watching out for developments on Friday as results from the Makerfield by-election emerge in the early hours of the [...]
Kemi Badenoch can still woo the City June 17, 2026 Just under a year ago I sat down with Kemi Badenoch to talk through her plans to win over the City. I left the interview with little to report back. “We are looking at everything,” Badenoch told me at the time. “Our policy renewal programme is trying to get us to a place where we [...]
War bonds to lift defence spending ruled out June 17, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has ruled out issuing defence bonds to fund an uplift in spending as a spokesperson said it was “just another form of borrowing”. In his absence at Prime Minister’s Questions, Starmer’s deputy David Lammy appeared to open the door to defence bonds being created to fund a rise in spending. The Liberal [...]
Starmer: I would make Andy Burnham a Cabinet minister June 17, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has said he would offer Andy Burnham a “big role in government” if he is elected as an MP in the Makerfield by-election this week. The Prime Minister indicated that the current Manchester mayor would be given a Cabinet role as he said he had “spoken to him many times in recent [...]
Burnham’s focused on spending but at least Streeting’s thinking about growth June 17, 2026 So, what’s it going to be? An end to 40 years of neoliberalism or a future shaped by progressive capitalism? That, at least, is the choice represented by Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting. The former health secretary delivered an impressive speech yesterday, offering an alternative economic vision to the more left-leaning instincts of Labour’s candidate [...]
Healey condemns Reeves: ‘Our adversaries do not follow timetables set by the Treasury’ June 16, 2026 John Healey has delivered a stinging criticism of Rachel Reeves’ handling of defence spending, warning that the UK’s enemies “do not follow timetables set by the Treasury”. In his resignation speech in parliament, the former defence secretary took aim at Sir Keir Starmer and Reeves for failing to fully fund the Defence Investment Plan (DIP), [...]
Musk brands UK a ‘police state’ as Big Tech rebels against Starmer’s social media ban June 16, 2026 Elon Musk, Meta and Google’s YouTube have all attacked Keir Starmer’s planned social media ban for under-16s, warning the restrictions will drive teenagers towards less safe corners of the internet and create sweeping new surveillance powers. The backlash comes as ministers consider forcing Apple and Google to carry out age checks on millions of British [...]
Streeting attacks Burnham’s pledges as ‘appeal to party at expense of Brits’ June 16, 2026 Former health secretary Wes Streeting levelled a series of thinly-veiled attacks against Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, ahead of a crucial by-election that will likely set a Labour leadership contest in motion. In a speech in Tower Bridge in London, Streeting appeared to criticise Burnham’s political campaign in Makerfield in the weeks leading up to polling [...]