‘Cure worse than the disease’: Starmer’s mentor lambasts plan to scrap juries April 14, 2026 The proposal to scrap jury trials is “a cure worse than the disease”, according to the founding head of the Chambers where Sir Keir Starmer once practised. David Lammy’s controversial Courts and Tribunals Bill aims to reduce Crown Court backlogs by approximately halving the number of jury trials. The Bill, if passed, will create a [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks uneven as Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade begins April 14, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Markets were rocked yesterday by the US’ blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, adding a new layer of tensions to the weeks-long conflict in the Middle East. Vice-President JD Vance has accused the Iranian government of engaging in an “act of economic terrorism” through its [...]
Tax fears mount: Most Brits unhappy with Labour over energy price rise April 14, 2026 The majority of Britons are unhappy with the Labour government’s response to the energy price jump sparked by the Iran war, new polling has found, as voters believe that Chancellor Rachel Reeves will turn to tax rises to keep public finances on a stable footing. Fresh City AM/Freshwater Strategy polling has found that 52 per [...]
Starmer fears ‘untold damage’ to UK economy from Iran war April 13, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has warned that the impacts of the Iran war will be “significant” as he insisted the government’s central position was to stay out of the conflict. Starmer told MPs on Monday that the main war in Iran, which lasted over a month before a ceasefire was announced last week, had already harmed [...]
Farage fronts £2m bitcoin purchase despite price tumble April 13, 2026 Reform UK’s Nigel Farage has fronted a £2m purchase of bitcoin by the Kwasi Kwarteng-led crypto company Stack BTC despite the cryptocurrency’s price tumbling over recent months. Farage was filmed in a promotional video for the crypto reserves firm buying around £2m of Bitcoin, with the business stating that the political leader was the first [...]
Keir Starmer: Bypass law for EU single market in UK’s ‘best interest’ April 13, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has said Labour’s effort to allow the UK government to adopt new EU single market rules without parliamentary approval was in the “UK’s best interest”. Fresh legislation to be presented after May is set to allow the government to adopt EU single market rules without amendments from MPs. Parliamentarians would be able [...]
Voters tell Reeves: Cut taxes and energy costs to boost ‘poor’ UK economy April 13, 2026 British voters want Rachel Reeves to cut taxes and reduce energy costs in order to focus on growth as a majority of people felt the UK economy was “poor”, new research has shown. Polling by Freshwater Strategy for the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a free market think tank, suggested that the vast majority of [...]
Rachel Reeves’ wealth fund pumps £600m into Rolls-Royce SMR April 13, 2026 Rachel Reeves’ flagship wealth fund has announced a fresh heap of financing for Rolls-Royce SMR following its tie-up with Ed Miliband’s state-owned energy company. The National Wealth Fund has revealed a £599m financing package for Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactors (SMR) in a bid to kick start delivery on its project with Great British Energy. The [...]
Starmer told Trump to be ‘practical’ amid Strait of Hormuz tax rumours April 10, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has said he spent most of a conversation with Donald Trump on Thursday night talking about a “practical plan” to secure the Strait of Hormuz, shortly after he said he was “fed up” of the US president’s impact on energy bills. Starmer said he spoke to Trump about the blocked strait, which [...]
Healey: Defence investment is Starmer’s ‘highest priority’ April 10, 2026 Defence secretary John Healey has said defence investment is the Prime Minister’s “highest priority” as military officials wait for a long-awaited strategy paper on procurement and spending. At the London Defence Conference, Healey said Sir Keir Starmer has taken a “personal interest” in drafting the Defence Investment Plan, which was due to be published last [...]