King’s Speech: Ministers ban North Sea oil and gas exploration May 14, 2026 The government will make it illegal to grant new oil and gas licences in the North Sea, the King said at the state opening of Parliament, in a sign ministers are refusing to buckle in the face of a barrage of criticism that the policy is depriving the UK of billions of pounds in tax [...]
The King’s Speech was overshadowed by the Westminster clown show May 14, 2026 Put the current political chaos from your mind for a moment and imagine that Keir Starmer wasn’t under threat. Imagine a version of the Prime Minister – still unpopular and still struggling to engineer economic growth – but at least with the full backing of his cabinet and MPs. Under such circumstances, yesterday’s King’s Speech [...]
Starmer to face challenge from Streeting May 13, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer is set to face an imminent leadership challenge from health secretary Wes Streeting, according to reports, as Labour’s infighting explodes into open war. The Prime Minister attempted to use the King’s Speech – setting out his legislative agenda for the year ahead – to regain the initiative, promising “radical change.” But minutes [...]
King’s Speech: Under Labour, Britain looks like a bad bet May 13, 2026 Today’s King’s Speech offered no solutions, just a failing government doubling down on its mistakes, says Mel Stride The King’s Speech will not restore confidence. It will not tame inflation. It will not bring borrowing down. And it certainly will not convince markets that under Keir Starmer’s Labour, Britain has a government with a grip [...]
King’s Speech shows incremental change is all Starmer knows May 13, 2026 Keir Starmer says incremental change won't cut it, yet his King's Speech was nothing but tinkering and rearranging, writes Matthew Bowles.
Westminster permadrama is sabotaging productivity May 13, 2026 The constant drama of Westminster is distracting politicians, investors and the general public from getting on with what they're meant to.
Ministers to be handed ‘statutory powers’ to steer regulator’s growth agenda May 13, 2026 Ministers will be handed new “statutory powers” to steer UK watchdog’s growth agenda and define what it means in different “regulatory contexts“. In the King’s Speech, the government revealed its Regulating for Growth Bill – a cross-sector piece of legislation designed to beef up the UK’s regulatory system’s fostering of growth. The government’s report takes [...]
Labour leadership turmoil to cost Reeves up to £12bn May 13, 2026 Labour’s political infighting could cost Chancellor Rachel Reeves up to £12bn, analysis by a Wall Street bank has suggested. Hot-tempered bond markets and stunted growth – a consequence of further political instability – would knock around £12bn off the Chancellor’s fiscal headroom, Goldman Sachs warned. While the £12bn hit to public finances would not erase [...]
JP Morgan chief threatens to pull £3bn investment if Labour becomes ‘hostile to banks’ May 13, 2026 The chief executive of JP Morgan has threatened to pull a major investment from the UK if Labour government policy turns “hostile to banks”. Jamie Dimon – the influential American banker – revealed plans for a £3bn square feet tower in Canary Wharf last year, which is projected to inject as much as £10bn over [...]
Why the battle for Labour’s future could prove to be very expensive May 13, 2026 Amid the farce and drama, spare a thought for His Majesty, who will today sit on the throne in the House of Lords and read out details of Keir Starmer’s legislative agenda for the coming parliamentary term. The monarch may be above politics, but not so far above that he won’t see the absurdity of [...]