Kemi Badenoch pledges to wield the axe on post-financial crisis banking regulation June 18, 2026 Kemi Badenoch will today step up her efforts to woo the City as she promises to wield the axe on post-financial crisis banking regulation if she manages to clinch the keys to Number 10. “London is having its lunch eaten” by overregulation, the Tory leader will proclaim as she proposes a shakeup of the financial regime that she hopes [...]
Streeting attacks Burnham’s pledges as ‘appeal to party at expense of Brits’ June 16, 2026 Former health secretary Wes Streeting levelled a series of thinly-veiled attacks against Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, ahead of a crucial by-election that will likely set a Labour leadership contest in motion. In a speech in Tower Bridge in London, Streeting appeared to criticise Burnham’s political campaign in Makerfield in the weeks leading up to polling [...]
Late payments costing UK economy £11bn as SMEs struggle to invest June 15, 2026 Late payments are costing the UK economy an estimated £11bn a year and leaving small businesses (SMEs) waiting almost a month to be paid, amid growing concerns over blocked cashflow across the economy. Research from Sage shared with City AM found that 49 per cent of SME invoices are paid late, with businesses waiting an [...]
UK economy falters as deeper damage to growth to come June 12, 2026 The UK economy lost momentum in April, official data has revealed, as the energy price shock from the Iran war took its toll on businesses and consumers. The Office for National Statistics said GDP declined by 0.1 per cent in April. The services sector contracted by 0.2 per cent while manufacturing output did not post [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 rises as easing Iran tensions offset GDP blow; SpaceX set for blast off June 12, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Global equity investors are bracing for Musk’s record-breaking market debut SpaceX is set to begin trading on Nasdaq today after Elon Musk’s rocket, satellite and AI empire pulled off the largest IPO in market history. The company raised $75bn after pricing shares at $135, giving it a $1.77 [...]
George Osborne: Manchesterism is a real thing but Burnham ‘only part of the story’ June 10, 2026 Former Chancellor George Osborne has said that mayor Andy Burnham should take some credit for Manchester’s high growth, defending Manchesterism as a “real thing”. Speaking to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, he defended his move to begin devolving fiscal powers to Manchester during the Coalition government years under his “Northern Powerhouse” initiative. He [...]
As it happened: FTSE 100 and Wall Street hit by stock sell-off; CBI cuts UK GDP June 9, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Rachel Reeves is staring down another bruising growth downgrade this morning after the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) slashed the UK’s GDP forecast to 1.1 per cent for the year. The figure is a drop from 1.4 per cent last year and below the previous consensus of 1.3 [...]
Jeremy Hunt is right to ask Can We Be Rich Again? June 9, 2026 With the CBI’s latest economic forecasts warning of a dramatic spike in unemployment and a prolonged period of anaemic GDP growth, it’s a good time to reflect on the question posed by former chancellor Jeremy Hunt in his latest book, Can We Be Rich Again? The book is the latest in a series of works [...]
Pat McFadden: I have not apologised to Rachel Reeves over ‘tax to pay benefits’ text June 8, 2026 Welfare secretary Pat McFadden has doubled down on his remarks unearthed in the Mandelson files that “every meeting [he has] is ‘who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others’”. The Cabinet minister was among numerous top officials to have his private messages released in documents relating to Lord Mandelson’s stint as the [...]
Billionaire Labour backer John Caudwell: I was misled by ‘disastrous’ Starmer June 3, 2026 Billionaire John Caudwell has said he was “misled” by Keir Starmer’s Labour Party and revealed that he hopes to once again back the Tories at the next election. The entrepreneur and philanthropist said there is “no chance” of him voting Labour at the next election, which he says the government is bound to lose. Labour [...]