Burnham risks £4bn bill in Thames Water special administration Politics 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. [...]
Starmer took sport freebies worth tens of thousands of pounds while PM Sport Business Outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer took sport-related freebies worth tens of thousands of pounds in his two years at Downing Street. Official data declared by the Prime Minister in the register of accepted gifts and hospitality shows the sport-mad leader has enjoyed £33,000 worth of perks since winning a landslide victory for his Labour [...]
Burnham to approve North Sea oil and gas drilling in policy blitz Politics Incoming prime minister Andy Burnham is set to announce new drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea within days of taking office as part of a policy blitz, according to reports. Burnham’s team has asked the civil service to draw up plans to approve drilling projects at the Jackdaw gas field and Rosebank [...]
City sizes up mystery Mahmood July 17, 2026 Executives and business groups have begun sizing up Shabana Mahmood and her past policy positions as they search for ways to engage the woman tipped to become Andy Burnham’s Chancellor next week. The emergence of Mahmood, who hails from the right of the party and cracked down on immigration in her role as home secretary, [...]
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 [...]
Sadiq Khan lobbies Burnham to appoint Miliband as Chancellor July 11, 2026 London mayor Sadiq Khan has weighed into the debate over who should be the next chancellor, lobbying Andy Burnham to select Ed Miliband for the job. In a private discussion with Burnham, Khan argued that Miliband had both the political skills and economic expertise to deliver Burnham’s agenda, including devolving powers to city regions, people [...]
The Debate: Should Britain set up a No 10 North? July 8, 2026 Is Andy Burnham's vision for a Number 10 North visionary or gimmicky? We hear both sides in this week's Debate.
Government ‘mis-sold student loans’ to teenagers, MPs say July 7, 2026 A group of MPs have accused the government of knowingly mis-selling student loans for years to unsuspecting teenagers, after using adverts comparing repayments to mobile phone contracts and failing to properly inform them of certain conditions. The Department for Education (DfE) used a bundle of promotional materials comparing monthly student loans repayments to low-cost monthly items, [...]
Andy Burnham says he will put essential services back under ‘stronger’ public control July 4, 2026 Andy Burnham has said he will set out a “new approach” to put essential services back under “stronger public control”. In an “ask me anything” session on online forum Reddit on Friday, Burnham, who is expected to be Starmer’s successor, confirmed he will look into placing services back under public control in an attempt to [...]
Making Miliband chancellor would be a ‘mistake’, Trump officials warn July 4, 2026 Senior officials in president Trump’s administration have privately warned that appointing Ed Miliband as chancellor would be a “mistake”, as speculation over who will take over from Rachel Reeves grows. US officials told their counterparts in Britain, as well as senior Labour figures, that they were concerned about Miliband’s opposition to new oil and gas [...]