By: Helen Thomas

CEO & Founder - Blonde Money Helen Thomas CEO and Richard Brownlees COO set up BlondeMoney almost a decade ago to bring together the worlds of Westminster and Wall Street.

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Is the consensus on central bank independence starting to fray?

Opinion

Across the globe, leaders like Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron are challenging institutional independence and exerting their influence over monetary policy – but they could come to regret it, says Helen Thomas For much of the past three decades, central bank independence has been treated as a settled question. Monetary policy was best left to [...]
Rachel Reeves is running out of places to hide

Opinion

If clarity is not restored soon, both markets and the public will conclude that the disorder surrounding each fiscal event is not a passing miscommunication but a structural feature of the Chancellor’s approach, says Helen Thomas “It didn’t exist”. “This wasn’t true”. “It was not signed off by me”. “I honestly couldn’t tell you what [...]
The biggest risk to this government is no longer economic turbulence, but itself

Opinion

A Budget meant to project discipline has instead exposed confusion, mistrust and political instability around the Chancellor, eroding confidence in both markets and her own party, says Helen Thomas It is never a good omen when the Chancellor becomes the story rather than the Budget they’ve delivered. What began as a carefully choreographed fiscal event, [...]

Only a new leader can save Labour now

November 20, 2025

Starmer and Reeves have a majority but not a mandate and are too weak to deliver anything. Only a new leader can give the markets and the OBR confidence that they have an actual plan, says Helen Thomas As Budget preparation ploughs into the final furlong, the next field is already lining up on the [...]
Reeves and Starmer are now at the mercy of the markets

November 13, 2025

A government elected on competence and stability may now gamble both to stave off internal revolt. For investors, the message is that British politics has not regained the calm that markets briefly hoped for, says Helen Thomas The markets once again have a starring role on the stage of political intrigue. Allies of the Prime [...]
Reeves may reassure the markets, but her political future is at risk

November 6, 2025

Reeves’ speech was intended to steady nerves but instead will ignite the internal struggle that defines Labour’s next phase in power, says Helen Thomas With just over three weeks to go until the Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has decided she can’t wait any longer. The pitch has to be rolled, the ground prepared, and the [...]
Keir Starmer may not survive this Budget

October 30, 2025

The Prime Minister cannot satisfy all three key audiences: the markets, the party, and the public, says Helen Thomas Every Prime Minister faces a moment when economic reality collides with political promise. For Keir Starmer, Budget day could be that moment of reckoning. He promised calm after chaos: that the grown-ups were back in charge, [...]
Regulation isn’t what’s holding business back – it’s tax

October 23, 2025

The Chancellor has promised to “boldly regulate for growth” but that’s easy to say and costs nothing. The UK’s problem isn’t paperwork, it’s the relentless pressure of ever higher prices and government constraints, says Helen Thomas The Chancellor has given a Regional Investment Summit speech where she tapped into her inner Spock, promising to “go [...]
Which taxes will be raised in the Budget?

October 16, 2025

The UK Chancellor has now received the first forecast from the OBR. There will be two more“pre-measures” rounds before the crunch moment on 10 November when the OBR deliverto the Treasury the first “post-measure” forecast. That’s the point where Reeves will havehad to make some decisions on what might actually end up in the Budget [...]
In Tokyo, Paris and London, political risk is on the rise

October 9, 2025

Instability in Japan, France and the UK will have global consequences for the bond markets, says Helen Thomas For investors, the message is simple: political risk is rising. From Tokyo to Paris to London, governments face competing imperatives – fiscal credibility, economic stimulus and electoral survival. Sanae Takaichi, the new leader of Japan’s ruling LDP, [...]

Sport business quiz 2025: Test your knowledge with City AM’s topical teasers

Sport business quiz 2025: Test your knowledge with City AM’s topical teasers

Here are the biggest, best cultural moments of 2025

By: Helen Thomas

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