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 [...]
Right to Buy has been a huge success, of course the left hates it June 2, 2026 Labour leadership contenders’ claims that Right to Buy is to blame for the housing crisis are absurd, says Ben Hopkinson Last week in a 5,000 word polemic, Tony Blair accused the Labour government of being parked firmly in the party’s ‘soft left’ comfort zone. Perhaps nothing reflects this more than the leadership contender’s short-sighted clamour [...]
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 [...]
Sadiq Khan: London tech boom can weather ‘dizzying’ AI risks June 1, 2026 Sadiq Khan has insisted London is “busy writing” the future of AI despite the “dizzying” risks posed by the technology, as fresh figures show the capital has reclaimed its position as Europe’s leading tech hub. The Mayor of London said AI presents both “impacts and opportunities”, but argued the capital was well placed to benefit [...]
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 [...]
Brits back Blair’s growth calls – yet are squeamish over welfare cuts June 1, 2026 Most Britons back Tony Blair’s demands to prioritise cheaper energy over net zero and support the private sector to boost growth, yet are squeamish over slashing disability payments and reforming the triple lock pension, polling has shown. Following up on Tony Blair’s rallying call for potential Labour leadership contenders to focus on growth, City AM/Freshwater [...]
Labour sheds union member support to Reform, poll shows June 1, 2026 Trade union members are split between supporting Labour and Reform UK, a poll has found, reflecting the breakdown of Britain’s traditional voting patterns. A poll by JL Partners has suggested that support for the two parties from union members is tied at 28 per cent, with Labour dropping 20 percentage points in support since the [...]