Burnham to approve North Sea oil and gas drilling in policy blitz July 17, 2026 Incoming prime minister Andy Burnham is set to announce new drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea within days of taking office as part of a policy blitz, according to reports. Burnham’s team has asked the civil service to draw up plans to approve drilling projects at the Jackdaw gas field and Rosebank [...]
Thames Water in the dark as Burnham mulls embattled utility’s future July 17, 2026 Thames Water and the group of creditors vying to buy it have had no engagement with Andy Burnham’s team as the incoming prime minister weighs whether to take full public control of the struggling utility, City AM understands. Burnham said earlier this year that Thames Water should be nationalised and has repeatedly called for greater [...]
Mahmood called for banker bonus tax to fix youth unemployment July 17, 2026 Shabana Mahmood has previously called for a tax on banker bonuses to fix youth unemployment in a move that will renew fears the sector could be targeted for a cash grab. The front-runner to be Andy Burnham’s Chancellor was a staunch supporter of a bill set out by Labour in opposition that sought to levy [...]
City sizes up mystery Mahmood July 17, 2026 Executives and business groups have begun sizing up Shabana Mahmood and her past policy positions as they search for ways to engage the woman tipped to become Andy Burnham’s Chancellor next week. The emergence of Mahmood, who hails from the right of the party and cracked down on immigration in her role as home secretary, [...]
Burnham set for crunch decision on JP Morgan’s £10bn tower July 16, 2026 Andy Burnham’s government will face a crunch decision on the future of JP Morgan’s flagship tower in Canary Wharf as it weighs whether to uphold a major tax break for the project despite opposition from industry groups. The next Chancellor will serve as the final arbiter on the framework of a business rates exemption for [...]
Crest Nicholson shares slump as lender talks drag on July 16, 2026 Crest Nicholson shares dropped after the housebuilder posted a £35m loss and told investors it is still locked in talks with its lenders. The London-listed firm had delayed the publication of its results in the hopes of seeking emergency permission from its creditors to loosen the terms of its debt, but said on Thursday that [...]
We should all get behind this wealth tax July 16, 2026 A wealth tax is once again rising up the agenda as Andy Burnham prepares to enter Downing Street. The tax is remarkably popular. YouGov polling last year found 75 per cent of Brits would be in favour of the introduction of a wealth tax, with only 13 per cent opposed. There are three clear reasons [...]
Sport expects true fan Andy Burnham to take a leaf out of John Major’s book July 16, 2026 Andy Burnham was Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport for 16 months in Gordon Brown’s cabinet. This was a time in which shirt and tie was the required political dress code for swinging in a children’s playground in Brixton with the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Family, one Ed Balls. Burnham’s [...]
Retailers urge Burnham to slash tax and back youth employment July 16, 2026 Retailers have called on Andy Burnham to slash their taxes and help them to employ young people in a raft of demands for the Prime Minister-to-be. The British Retail Consortium (BRC), a trade body representing the UK’s biggest retailers, has urged Burnham to “buy into retail” as part of his pledge to back local communities [...]
Burnham opens door to wealth tax July 15, 2026 Andy Burnham has refused to rule out a wealth tax as part of his economic agenda, saying the country needs a “greater sense of fairness”. In his first formal interview since being all but confirmed as the next Prime Minister, the former Manchester mayor warned that decisions on tax were “going to be difficult” and [...]