Starmer defends ‘treacherous’ Reeves and Miliband despite Badenoch jibes June 24, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer jumped to the defence of senior Cabinet ministers Ed Miliband and Rachel Reeves despite brutal attacks by the Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. In one of his last Prime Minister’s Questions, Starmer defiantly stood by the Chancellor, who sat on the front bench alongside him, and praised her for “breaking from austerity” and [...]
Burnham’s new chief of staff ran City firm advising Thames Water and rival Heathrow bidder June 24, 2026 Andy Burnham’s likely chief of staff will move to Downing Street from a lobbying firm that counts Thames Water and the rival bidder for Heathrow’s third runway as clients, just as ministers mull decisions that could decide both organisations’ fate. James Purnell is widely tipped to become Burnham’s most senior right-hand man should the Makerfield [...]
Burnham coronation closer yet Starmer ally raises alarm on borrowing June 24, 2026 Andy Burnham’s path to Downing Street has been all but cleared after Darren Jones ruled out entering a leadership race, spilling over to further speculation over the look of the next government’s Cabinet. Jones, a close ally of Sir Keir Starmer, was rumoured as a potential challenger to Burnham but the chief secretary to the [...]
What if Andy Burnham had become Labour leader in 2015? June 24, 2026 On his third try, Andy Burnham looks all but certain to become Labour leader. But what if he had taken the reins of the party eleven years earlier? Matt Kenyon imagines an alternative timeline… 2015 It’s a world that looks a lot like our own. There’s just one, seemingly minor, difference: A cluster of well-meaning [...]
London homeowners should stand up to Burnham’s property tax grab plans June 24, 2026 Andy Burnham has previously a ‘proportional property tax’ which would mean Londoner’s taxes going to pay for leisure centres in the North, says Charles Amos When it comes to the question of Britain’s most hated tax, council tax is only beaten by inheritance tax. Yet for Andy Burnham its reform and increase of the upper [...]
Former Bank of England rate-setter to become next OBR chair June 23, 2026 A former rate-setter at the Bank of England and member of City AM’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee is set to become the chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility, the fiscal watchdog which has come under pressure from MPs and inadvertently leaked last year’s Budget. Jonathan Haskel, professor of economics at Imperial College London, will [...]
Starmer to give Burnham access to government June 23, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer is set to hand Andy Burnham access to the civil service “as soon as possible”. After announcing his resignation, Starmer is preparing for a transition in government over the next four weeks. A government spokesperson confirmed that Burnham and other prospective Prime Ministers would be able to engage with senior civil servants [...]
The next Prime Minister can change the conversation on the fiscal rules June 23, 2026 Since the defenestration of Liz Truss, the OBR has become an obsession in British politics. It need not be this way. Independent fiscal institutions are supposed to inform politics, not rule it. Other countries use them as sources of transparency, not as judge, jury and executioner, says Helen Thomas The next Prime Minister and Chancellor [...]
Burnham to lay out economic plan, but markets fear Miliband as Chancellor June 23, 2026 With more than three weeks to go before he can formally clinch the keys to 10 Downing Street, leadership challenger Andy Burnham is planning to make a major speech on the economy next week. It’s part of an effort to reassure the bond markets – to which he once said we shouldn’t be “in hock” [...]
Thames Water is Burnham’s first big test: will he do what’s right or what’s popular? June 23, 2026 Thames Water will run out of money in a matter of months, but the government rejected a plan to save it. Now, Burnham’s talk of renationalisation is already scaring off investors and reducing the tax revenues available to fun public services, says Natascha Engel Now that Keir Starmer has announced his departure, the question is [...]