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 [...]
Sport expects true fan Andy Burnham to take a leaf out of John Major’s book July 16, 2026 Andy Burnham was Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport for 16 months in Gordon Brown’s cabinet. This was a time in which shirt and tie was the required political dress code for swinging in a children’s playground in Brixton with the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Family, one Ed Balls. Burnham’s [...]
As it happened: Stocks drop on Trump-Iran warning; Mahmood tipped to be chancellor July 16, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The UK has received fresh economic growth data this morning which has put GDP expansion at a sluggish 0.1 per cent for the month of May. The services sector – which contributes more than 80 per cent of total economic output – grew 0.3 per cent against steep [...]
Aegon warns red tape is blocking pension investment spree July 16, 2026 Aegon has warned that regulation is holding back some of Britain’s top pension fund managers from pumping cash into the country’s start-ups and unlisted companies. The pension giant, which manages £160bn of assets in the UK alone, was one of 11 companies alongside Aviva and Legal & General to commit to investing five per cent [...]
Forget Burnham, what will Starmer do next? July 16, 2026 The end of a premiership means finding an epilogue, so what will Keir Starmer’s be, asks John Oxley Around the summer parties of Westminster, the key conversation is “What will Andy actually do?” The presumptive PM has always been something of a political enigma (or weathervane, depending on your perspective). He has been out of [...]
Shabana Mahmood set to be named Chancellor by Burnham July 15, 2026 Shabana Mahmood is set to be named Chancellor by Andy Burnham next week when the former Manchester mayor takes the keys to Number 10, according to reports. The home secretary has now pipped Ed Miliband, Yvette Cooper and Wes Streeting to Rachel Reeves’ post, the Financial Times reported. A source told the paper: “Shabana is [...]
Burnham opens door to wealth tax July 15, 2026 Andy Burnham has refused to rule out a wealth tax as part of his economic agenda, saying the country needs a “greater sense of fairness”. In his first formal interview since being all but confirmed as the next Prime Minister, the former Manchester mayor warned that decisions on tax were “going to be difficult” and [...]
Energy minister says AI must ‘bring down bills’ as data centres squeeze the grid July 15, 2026 Power-hungry data centres must help bring down bills rather than place further strain on Britain’s squeezed electricity network, the energy minister has said. Michael Shanks warned public support could drop for the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure unless households saw a clear economic benefit. “We need to deliver energy security here at home, but we [...]
Motsepe backed to succeed Fifa’s Infantino by South African minister July 15, 2026 African football chief Patrice Motsepe has been backed to succeed Gianni Infantino as president of Fifa when the Swiss moves on from an anticipated third term in 2031. The South African minister for sport, Gayton McKenzie, said “I don’t know if there’s anybody that will disagree with his name” being in the hat to succeed [...]