Labour turmoil and Iran war brings ‘reversal of fortunes’ for UK economy June 3, 2026 A combination of feverish political speculation and knock on effects from the war in Iran has culminated in a “reversal of fortunes” for the UK economy, as new data suggests activity across the private sector declined in May. S&P Global’s monthly survey of hundreds of firms has shown that business across services companies declined in [...]
OECD: Growth to remain below one per cent as UK economy struggles with unemployment June 3, 2026 What little growth the UK economy will experience this year will be fuelled by high government expenditure, according to the world’s top independent economic organisation. The OECD, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for long, said public expenditure would “support the economy” even as consumer spending and business investment is set to weaken. The [...]
Tony Blair has issued a call to arms – but will Labour listen? June 3, 2026 Tony Blair’s blockbuster intervention is a reminder of a time when the government believed business was part of the solution to Britain’s problems, says Steve Rigby For entrepreneurs, looking back can be anathema. Everything is about the future – the next customer, the next acquisition, the carefully-plotted route towards a big-money exit. But for those [...]
Reeves warned Iran war oil shock will lead to government borrowing spike June 2, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned that government borrowing is set to spike as a result of the Iran war as the Office for Budget Responsibility admitted it had underestimated the effects of the last energy price shock. In a review of its forecasting models, the OBR suggested it had learned lessons from Russia’s full-scale [...]
No ‘capacity’ for Ed Miliband’s warm homes plan, says British bank boss June 2, 2026 A UK banking chief has warned the government does not have the “capacity” to meet its ambition to transition millions of homes to low carbon-heating technologies. Nigel Terrington, the boss of specialist lender Paragon Bank, said Labour faced an “operational capacity constraint” in its bid to implement its warm home plan. The £15bn initiative, which [...]
Replace Reeves if Starmer goes, voters tell Labour June 2, 2026 Rachel Reeves should be replaced as Chancellor if Sir Keir Starmer is ousted in a Labour leadership contest, the majority of voters believe. Reeves’ team had told newspapers that she should stay on in order to maintain some stability if Starmer were defeated by Wes Streeting, Andy Burnham or another Labour leader contender in a [...]
Labour may not agree with Blair, but the public does… June 2, 2026 This month’s City AM / Freshwater Strategy Poll reveals that the public is largely on the side of the former Prime Minister rather than Keir Starmer or his potential heirs when it comes to welfare, energy costs and growth, says Matthew Lesh Love him or, like many others, absolutely detest his guts, it’s hard to avoid the [...]
Mandelson Files add insult to injury, but the patient was already beyond saving June 2, 2026 The deluge of emails, Whatsapp messages and hand-written notes released yesterday cover the full range of political and diplomatic life, from the absurd to the poignant; from rows over a gift for Donald Trump to soul-searching over Keir Starmer’s failures, it’s all there in black and white. What’s clear at a glance is quite how [...]
‘Be more Trumpian’ – Mandelson discussed dire economy and ‘lack of verve’ with key Starmer ally June 1, 2026 One of Keir Starmer’s closest allies hit out at Downing Street’s thinking on economic policy as he complained about the government’s push to tax people to pay for more benefits, the latest Mandelson files have revealed. Pat McFadden told Peter Mandelson in May last year that meetings he attended centred on questions about hiking taxes [...]
Labour voters lead AI adoption as public remains split on impact June 1, 2026 Labour supporters are more likely to use AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude than voters of any other major political party, new polling has found. The latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll of UK voters found Labour backers are the heaviest users of AI assistants, while two-thirds (66 per cent) of voters overall have used [...]