Lord Walker calls for Healey to cut business taxes August 30, 2026 Iceland boss Lord Richard Walker has urged Andy Burnham and John Healey to cut taxes for businesses and to stop focusing on the cost of living. Walker, who backed Labour at the last election, said Healey should ease costs for employers. The supermarket chief was the cost of living tsar under Sir Keir Starmer’s government [...]
Venture heavyweights denounce government’s £1bn scale-up fund plans August 28, 2026 The government’s flagship £1bn scale-up fund will miss out on top deals and chalk up poor performance for its pensioner investors should ministers select a traditional firm to manage it over a specialist venture capital shop, a group of the UK’s top early-stage investors has warned. The industry heavyweights, who between them are early backers [...]
October Budget could be a ‘tipping point,’ Asda boss warns Burnham August 28, 2026 Andy Burnham’s first Budget in October could be a “tipping point” for British businesses and the economy, the chair of supermarket giant Asda has warned. Allan Leighton, who is attempting to push through a turnaround of the grocer, said it is “too early to tell” whether the government is committed to halting the rise of [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 jumps as oil falls back; Warsh says ‘work to do’ on inflation August 28, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. The UK’s blue-chip index extended gains on Friday after some pressures in the oil market eased off. Oil prices reared back up on Thursday night, reversing days of losses earlier in the week. The price of Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil – jumped [...]
The real scrutiny of Burnham begins now August 28, 2026 Burnham's honeymood period has been further bolstered by positive economic news. As Parliament returns, now is the time for bold moves.
Mike Ashley slams Burnham’s ‘populist’ plans to revive high street August 27, 2026 Retail tycoon Mike Ashley has blasted Andy Burnham’s proposals to revive the British high street as “populist” and “too little too late”. The billionaire Sports Direct and Frasers Group founder has written to the Prime Minister accusing him of failing to tackle the cost of living with “delusional” policies. The causes of the UK’s rising [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 falls but Nasdaq soars after Nvidia sales boom August 27, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM FTSE 100 liveblog. The UK’s blue chip index suffered heavy losses on Thursday, as murky US inflation data overshadowed Nvidia’s sales triumph. While headline inflation fell back, the Fed’s preferred measure – the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) – is still running hot at 3.7 per cent. Investors [...]
Burnham pledges to tackle ‘cost of business’ as firms fear Budget tax raid August 26, 2026 Andy Burnham has pledged to help tackle the “cost of business” as he looks to head off fears that the private sector will be hit with another punishing tax raid at the Budget. Burnham said he wants to “make life easier” for people and businesses as he prepares for his first Budget under the new [...]
Octopus boss Greg Jackson calls for ‘urgent reform’ on energy as bills rise August 26, 2026 Octopus boss Greg Jackson has called on Andy Burnham to deliver “urgent reform” to the energy market to protect households from “volatile” gas prices. Jackson, founder of the UK’s biggest household electricity supplier, said: “The government’s decision to take VAT off electricity and remove some of the levies from bills has helped soften the blow [...]
Lloyds and Natwest flaunt social credentials as fears grow of Burnham tax grab August 26, 2026 Lloyds and Natwest are flaunting their community credentials and pledging a raft of new social investment initiatives as fears grow that Prime Minister Andy Burnham will launch a punishing tax raid on the sector with the government’s first Budget. The two lenders are among a group of top UK banks looking to prove they can [...]