Burnham’s Thatcherism jibes are just tired socialist talking points July 20, 2026 Oasis caution against looking back in anger, yet the narrative Manchester’s other favourite son rehearsed in his first speech as Prime Minister was based on hackneyed old grievances, says Alys Denby Here we go again. Britain has gone through as many prime ministers in the last 10 years as it did in the previous 37 [...]
New CultureLab Findings Show Culturally Relevant Brands Worth Nearly Three Times More July 20, 2026 As CMOs get less for every media dollar they spend and as brand investment in creators grows, new research reveals what the world's most valuable brands are doing differently
Big Yellow slashes staff and turns to automation after Reeves’ business rates blow July 20, 2026 Big Yellow continued to trim its headcount and hike investment into automation in a bid to cut staff costs, as the company continues to deal with the fallout of Reeves’ decision to hike business rates. The Chancellor’s decision to increase both national insurance and minimum wage in the 2024 Autumn Budget, caused the group to [...]
Victory wasted: The cautionary tale of Keir Starmer July 20, 2026 Keir Starmer sold himself as a non-politician, and proved again and again why political skills matter, writes Eliot Wilson.
Temporary inflation slowdown set to boost Burnham July 19, 2026 Inflation is expected to have eased last month in a welcome but temporary boost for Andy Burnham’s incoming government. The headline rate of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation is tipped to have eased from 2.8 per cent in May to 2.6 per cent in June, according to some economists. The latest rate of inflation will [...]
Burnham risks £4bn bill in Thames Water special administration July 19, 2026 Andy Burnham’s plans to push Thames Water into special administration could leave the taxpayer to foot a £4bn bill. The incoming Prime Minister is facing a crunch decision over how to deal with the struggling utility and is expected to use a special administration regime (SAR) to keep it running until a buyer is found. [...]
IMF warns Bank of England against cutting interest rates July 17, 2026 The Bank of England must keep interest rates on hold for as long as risks from the Iran war persist, the International Monetary Fund has said. In its annual temperature check of Britain’s economic outlook, the fund warned rate setters to keep monetary policy “sufficiently restrictive” to avoid sparking a painful bout of inflation that [...]
The pensions triple lock is a travesty. Our politicians must fess up July 16, 2026 We report this week that the OECD has added itself to a growing list of institutions warning over the sustainability of Britain’s triple lock pensions system, the policy that guarantees the state pension rises annually by the highest of inflation, earnings growth or 2.5 per cent. The triple lock, the Paris-based OECD warns, is “unusually [...]
UK economy grows despite Iran war hit July 16, 2026 The UK economy grew marginally in May after strong performance in parts of the services sector helped soften the impact of Iran war and narrowly prevented a contraction. Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed the economy grew 0.1 per cent in May, broadly in line with market expectations. The services [...]
OECD sounds alarm on pension triple lock in challenge to Burnham July 15, 2026 The world’s leading independent economic organisation has warned that reform of the triple lock on state pensions is “necessary to reduce fiscal risks”, in a challenge to Andy Burnham as he prepares to take over as Prime Minister. The OECD, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, described the triple lock guarantee as “unusually generous [...]