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 [...]
‘Phenomenal waste of time’: Burnham slammed over plans to dismantle tech department July 21, 2026 Andy Burnham faced immediate questions over his decision to abolish the tech department on Tuesday, as peers warned the move risked disrupting Britain’s AI strategy. Ministers were hauled before the House of Lords less than a day after the machinery of government changes to the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) were announced, where [...]
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 [...]
IHT receipts hit record high as Rachel Reeves’ frozen bands raid plague Brits July 21, 2026 Inheritance tax receipts soared to a record high in the three months to June 2026, as frozen thresholds drag more Brits into the net. Receipts hit £2.3bn over the period, according to the latest figures from HMRC, a £96m increase from the same period last year. In June alone inheritance tax (IHT) receipts totalled £871m [...]
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, [...]
Thames Water creditors offer government ‘golden share’ to fend off nationalisation July 21, 2026 The group of creditors vying to take control of Thames Water has said it is willing to grant the government a “golden share” in the company and offer local governments oversight of its operations as it looks to fend off nationalisation by Andy Burnham. In a statement today, London & Valley Water (L&VW), a group [...]
Babcock and Rolls-Royce stocks rally after Healey appointment July 21, 2026 Defence stocks including Rolls-Royce have stormed to new highs as investors added to bets that the new Chancellor John Healey would plough further cash into London-listed arms companies. Defence supply giants Babcock and BAE Systems were among the biggest risers when markets opened on Tuesday, some 12 hours after former defence secretary Healey was appointed [...]