What London losing athletics to Nairobi tells us about future World Cup and Olympic bids September 20, 2026 England winning a World Cup in our lifetime. This may appear as elusive as ever, but hosting it may be more achievable. Particularly given our stadia, infrastructure and track record for hosting major global events. The signals from Downing Street suggest a similar plan. There’s talk of a potential 2042 World Cup in Great Britain, [...]
Rishi Sunak calls on PM Andy Burnham to restore £35m pledge for cricket domes September 18, 2026 Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has urged current PM Andy Burnham to reinstate the £35m funding commitment to building all-weather “cricket domes” he made when he was in No10. Sunak pledged the sum in 2024 to create 22 of the facilities around the country but the Labour government scrapped the funding, labelling it “fantasy”, after [...]
Explainer: What on Earth has the Bank of England done with its bond sale programme? September 18, 2026 The Bank of England chose to hold interest rates at 3.75 per cent on Thursday. But its unexpected overhaul of quantitative tightening could be far more consequential, says Ali Lyon. On days when the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee decides the future of interest rates, that choice – and the thinking that goes into [...]
Next boss Wolfson tells Healey: ‘You can’t spend your way out of a crisis’ September 17, 2026 Lord Wolfson, Next’s chief executive, has urged Chancellor John Healey to cut spending at next month’s Budget, warning, “you can’t spend your way out of a funding crisis”. The retail boss has urged the government to clamp down on spending, avoid further tax hikes and slash planning red tape to boost economic growth. He told [...]
Bank of England holds interest rates and overhauls bond sale programme September 17, 2026 The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at a sixth consecutive meeting, but warned that they were likely to rise at future meetings unless the threat to energy markets posed by the Iran war begins to ease. The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted six to three to leave rates unchanged, in [...]
Andrew Griffith tells Burnham to rule out Budget tax rises September 16, 2026 Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith will urge Labour to rule out further tax rises on businesses at next month’s Budget, as the Conservatives set out plans to cut the compliance burden facing small firms and the self-employed. In his first major speech since taking the role, Griffith will call on Andy Burnham and chancellor John Healey [...]
Gore Street Energy narrowly defeats Saba’s wind down vote September 16, 2026 Gore Street Energy Fund has survived an attempt by activist hedge fund Saba Capital to wind it down at its latest annual general meeting, after investors narrowly voted against its discontinuation. The battery fund quashed the Boaz Weinstein-run fund’s efforts to shut it down at its annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, but more than [...]
Gambling giant blames job cuts on Burnham high street crackdown September 16, 2026 Ladbrokes owner Entain has hit out at Andy Burnham’s plans to shake up the high street as the gambling giant blamed the Prime Minister for its decision to cut 400 jobs. The group, which also owns Coral, has announced that it will cut about a fifth of the headcount of its global customer care team, [...]
UK tech scale-ups raise £3.4bn as Burnham faces test over British investment September 16, 2026 Britain’s latest crop of high-growth tech companies have raised £3.4bn between them and employ more than 6,000 people, as Andy Burnham faces pressure to get more British capital behind home-grown firms. Tech Nation on Wednesday unveiled the 50 companies in its Future Fifty 2026 cohort, spanning AI, fintech, health, defence and energy. Together, the companies [...]
Brewdog founder James Watt slams Burnham over Neets crisis September 16, 2026 Brewdog co-founder James Watt has attacked Andy Burnham for “dangerous narratives” around youth joblessness, criticising the government for hiking the cost of employment. The beer tycoon said the Prime Minister is wrong to “blame the system” and should instead cut the cost of hiring workers and “get out of the way”. The Scottish businessman, who [...]