Would it have killed Kemi to throw Tory centrists a bone? January 29, 2026 Speaking to City AM at the start of this week the former John Lewis boss and West Midlands mayor, Andy Street, insisted that the Tories can beat Reform if they embrace the centre-right and resist the urge to fight Nigel Farage on his own turf. The new vehicle launched to make this case is called [...]
‘Woke’ banknotes: Bank of England orders money printer to follow ESG rules January 29, 2026 The Bank of England is facing backlash over its plans to make a new banknote printer comply with ESG and diversity standards under a “pass or fail” regime. Bank officials have attracted criticism from shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith over their plans to make applicants for the UK’s new money printing contract follow stringent criteria [...]
Exclusive: Starmer’s opponents receive largest donations in parliament January 29, 2026 Keir Starmer’s fiercest opponents have received the largest sums of cash donations since the General Election, City AM analysis has shown, as moves to weaken the Labour leader’s dominance in Westminster attract financial backing. The Prime Minister has faced intense criticism from all sides of the House of Commons in his first year and a [...]
Lib Dems: Starmer has gone ‘cap in hand’ to China despite spy threats January 28, 2026 Keir Starmer has been accused of going “cap in hand” to China, piling further criticism on the government’s trade ambitions with a country that has backed hacking operations against the UK. Liberal Democrats deputy leader Daisy Cooper demanded deputy prime minister David Lammy, who stood in for Starmer at PMQs, to name a “single consequence” [...]
High Court grants urgent hearing on Labour’s inheritance tax overhaul January 28, 2026 The High Court has green-lit an urgent hearing at the High Court over the government’s inheritance tax raid on agricultural assets and family firms. The proposed changes to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) represent one of the biggest shifts in UK inheritance tax (IHT) policy in decades, following the government’s initial [...]
Hakluyt taps Lord Sedwill and Economist’s Lara Boro for board roles January 28, 2026 Lord Mark Sedwill and the Economist Group’s chief executive officer have joined the board of strategic advisory firm Hakluyt. Lord Sedwill, the former cabinet secretary and head of the Home Civil Service under both Prime Ministers Theresa May and Boris Johnson, also served as a national security adviser. The company describes him as “one of [...]
Dollar slides as ‘loss of confidence’ in US policy spikes debasement fears January 28, 2026 The US dollar had its worst day since President Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariff onslaught on Tuesday as investors dumped their exposure to the greenback. The DXY index – which tracks the dollar against a basket of other currencies – has slumped over two per cent since the beginning of the year. Amidst the dollar [...]
Starmer warned on ‘severe’ risk of trading with China January 28, 2026 Keir Starmer has been warned about the “severe” risk of trading with China as he said building economic relations with the world’s second largest economy would drive growth. The Prime Minister landed in Beijing on Wednesday for meetings with Chinese officials including President Xi Jinping in the coming days. He has been joined by City [...]
Starmer is wrong to say he doesn’t have to choose between the US and China January 28, 2026 Is Keir Starmer a geopolitical genius? As he jets off to China for the first visit by a UK Prime Minister since 2018, we must at least consider the possibility that he is. Ahead of his departure Starmer said “I’m often invited to simply choose between countries [but] I don’t do that.” The countries in [...]
Public finance bodies need more clarity, says boss of Reeves’ wealth fund January 28, 2026 The boss of Rachel Reeves’ flagship wealth fund has admitted British entrepreneurs want more clarity across public finance bodies as concerns rise over the growing number of institutions. Former RBS boss Oliver Holbourn, who the Chancellor appointed last July to lead the National Wealth Fund (NWF), said “people want more confidence in who they’re going [...]