Starmer warned on ‘severe’ risk of trading with China January 28, 2026 Keir Starmer has been warned about the “severe” risk of trading with China as he said building economic relations with the world’s second largest economy would drive growth. The Prime Minister landed in Beijing on Wednesday for meetings with Chinese officials including President Xi Jinping in the coming days. He has been joined by City [...]
Starmer is wrong to say he doesn’t have to choose between the US and China January 28, 2026 Is Keir Starmer a geopolitical genius? As he jets off to China for the first visit by a UK Prime Minister since 2018, we must at least consider the possibility that he is. Ahead of his departure Starmer said “I’m often invited to simply choose between countries [but] I don’t do that.” The countries in [...]
Public finance bodies need more clarity, says boss of Reeves’ wealth fund January 28, 2026 The boss of Rachel Reeves’ flagship wealth fund has admitted British entrepreneurs want more clarity across public finance bodies as concerns rise over the growing number of institutions. Former RBS boss Oliver Holbourn, who the Chancellor appointed last July to lead the National Wealth Fund (NWF), said “people want more confidence in who they’re going [...]
Optimism picking up after ‘disruptive’ Budget, says Paragon chief January 27, 2026 Optimism in the UK is beginning to pick up, the boss of FTSE 250 lender Paragon has said, after sentiment was dampened by rampant tax speculation in the second half of 2025. Nigel Terrington, the boss of Paragon bank, told City AM that despite it being the early days of 2026, the mood was beginning [...]
Starmer under fire over China trip amid phone-hacking revelations January 27, 2026 Keir Starmer is under fire over his a trade-focused trip to China this week as further reports of espionage emerged. Chinese officials are believed to have hacked the phones of key government officials, according to The Telegraph. Hackers targeted top aides to UK prime ministers including Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, intelligence sources [...]
Starmer caps ground rents after fears of Rayner-led rebellion January 27, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer has introduced a cap on ground rents following fears of an MP rebellion led by the former deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner. The Prime Minister announced the new move – which will cap ground rents at £250 a year for leaseholders in England and Wales – on TikTok, saying it will “make [...]
FTSE 100 Live: HSBC carries blue-chips; Starmer eyes China trade January 27, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Gold’s magnificent rally was continuing on Tuesday morning after breaking through the $5,100 mark for the first time. The flurry to safe haven assets notched up after Trump threatened Canada with 100 per cent tariffs if the country “made a deal with China”. Last week [...]
Bambi Burnham has boosted Labour’s rivals January 27, 2026 The strategic block of Andy Burnham’s by-election candidacy is a self-inflicted wound that signals weakness, invites challenges from internal rivals, and elevates a local contest into a national stress test of Keir Starmer’s leadership, says Helen Thomas The starting gun to replace Keir Starmer has been fired. Andy Burnham’s application for a waiver to run [...]
Burnham was Labour’s best chance to stop Reform’s rise January 26, 2026 Blocking Andy Burnham's bid to stand as an MP could cause irreparable damage if Labour now loses the by-election, writes John McTernan.
Brits should thank Labour for saving us from Prime Minister Burnham – for now… January 26, 2026 Andy Burnham possesses an ill-founded, somewhat dismissive attitude towards any type of evidence. In the face of such glaring examples of failure, he pushes on – perhaps envisioning himself on a crusade to fix the Labour Party. But, the reality of the situation is that he is not the knight in shining armour that neither [...]