Reeves warned Iran war oil shock will lead to government borrowing spike June 2, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned that government borrowing is set to spike as a result of the Iran war as the Office for Budget Responsibility admitted it had underestimated the effects of the last energy price shock. In a review of its forecasting models, the OBR suggested it had learned lessons from Russia’s full-scale [...]
No ‘capacity’ for Ed Miliband’s warm homes plan, says British bank boss June 2, 2026 A UK banking chief has warned the government does not have the “capacity” to meet its ambition to transition millions of homes to low carbon-heating technologies. Nigel Terrington, the boss of specialist lender Paragon Bank, said Labour faced an “operational capacity constraint” in its bid to implement its warm home plan. The £15bn initiative, which [...]
Lime trialled fast-food lane that let Deliveroo riders bypass speed limits June 2, 2026 Lime has scrapped a trial that allowed Deliveroo riders to bypass speed restrictions on its rental e-bikes after questions were raised over the policy. The scheme, first reported by London Centric, gave riders using Lime’s new Delivery Pass access to areas where ordinary users would automatically be slowed down by the company’s “turtle mode” system. [...]
British American Tobacco shares slide as cigarette volumes decline June 2, 2026 British American Tobacco suffered a fall in share price in early morning trading, as investors opted to take profits despite updated revenue growth for the full financial year. Shares slipped 2.9 per cent to 4,447.3p, as investors ignored growth in its new category business and US momentum for declining cigarette volumes. Global cigarette industry volume [...]
As it happened: Stocks shrug off stalling Iran peace talks; OBR warns Reeves June 2, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Markets were rocked yesterday after reports emerged from Iranian state media that Tehran was pulling out of peace talks with the US. A proposal that included a 60-day cessation of violence and a play to re-open the Strait of Hormuz has hung in the balance [...]
Replace Reeves if Starmer goes, voters tell Labour June 2, 2026 Rachel Reeves should be replaced as Chancellor if Sir Keir Starmer is ousted in a Labour leadership contest, the majority of voters believe. Reeves’ team had told newspapers that she should stay on in order to maintain some stability if Starmer were defeated by Wes Streeting, Andy Burnham or another Labour leader contender in a [...]
Labour may not agree with Blair, but the public does… June 2, 2026 This month’s Morning Wire / Freshwater Strategy Poll reveals that the public is largely on the side of the former Prime Minister rather than Keir Starmer or his potential heirs when it comes to welfare, energy costs and growth, says Matthew Lesh Love him or, like many others, absolutely detest his guts, it’s hard to avoid the [...]
Wayve: London robotaxis will make passengers forget there’s no driver June 2, 2026 Wayve believes Londoners will stop noticing they are sitting in driverless cars within minutes of using them, as the British AI startup prepares to launch autonomous vehicles on Uber’s network in the capital. Kaity Fischer, Wayve’s vice president of commercial and operations, said the company expected passengers to move quickly from novelty to habit once [...]
Mandelson Files add insult to injury, but the patient was already beyond saving June 2, 2026 The deluge of emails, Whatsapp messages and hand-written notes released yesterday cover the full range of political and diplomatic life, from the absurd to the poignant; from rows over a gift for Donald Trump to soul-searching over Keir Starmer’s failures, it’s all there in black and white. What’s clear at a glance is quite how [...]
Pension master trusts join forces to tackle outdated transfer systems June 2, 2026 Eight pension master trusts have joined forces in a bid to improve the pension transfer system following uproar over its outdated and sluggish practices. The group, dubbed Pathfinder, brings together trusts including Nest, Smart Pension and People’s Pension, which represent over £162.7bn in funds under management and 14.5m savers. It aims to examine the current [...]