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The Guardian Politics25 Jul 2026

Can Japan avoid a Liz Truss-style shock as its PM embarks on a giant spending spree?

Sanae Takaichi’s blueprint to inject £1.7tn and double economic growth leaves many investors fearful International investors are asking where Japan’s prime minister will find the ¥370tn (£1.7tn) of extra cash that she wants to invest in 17 industrial sectors by 2040. Such is the scale of spending by Sanae Takaichi’s coalition government that many in her own party fear she is about to blow up the Japanese economy, triggering a Liz Truss-style economic shock. Continue reading...

Economy
The Guardian Politics24 Jul 2026

Andy Burnham to spend first working day at new No 10 North in Manchester – UK politics live

PM will chair the inaugural meeting of the national economic council that will aim to shift economic decision-making away ‌from London The housing secretary, Angela Rayner, has said the new Andy Burnham administration is on “borrowed time” to turn the country around. Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Rayner said the flurry of announcements made by the new prime minister – cap on bus fares, VAT cut on electricity bills and support for pubs and clubs – showed he understood the frustratio

PoliticsEconomyHousing
The Guardian Politics24 Jul 2026

My generation shouldn’t be scared of a care tax – we’re paying one already | Gaby Hinsliff

If Andy Burnham is minded to grasp the nettle, he will need to sell it to people like me. The right will call it a ‘death tax’ – why not a levy for ageing well? One of the last things Andy Burnham did before entering Downing Street was to go and see his father. Now living in a nursing home, Roy Burnham has Alzheimer’s and isn’t really aware of his son’s new job. But perhaps the prime minister wanted, in part, to try to explain why he might not be visiting so often in future. Gaby Hinsliff is a G

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics23 Jul 2026

Regional mayors to take key roles in UK policy decisions as part of No 10 North plans

Burnham says ‘no one in government loses when power is shared’ as he revives Brown-era national economic council It’s not just a No 10 in the north, it’s an engine for growth throughout the whole UK | Andy Burnham Regional mayors are to be given a leading role in the UK’s economic policy, Andy Burnham has said, as he called the opening of No 10 North “the biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen”. The new prime minister has revived the national economic council [NEC], first set up by

Economy
The Guardian Politics23 Jul 2026

Gary Lineker wants millionaires like him to pay wealth tax – The Latest

Millionaires including former footballer Gary Lineker are asking Andy Burnham to tax their wealth more. More than 100 UK-based millionaires have signed an open letter to the prime minister, saying: ‘We want you to tax us. We can afford it.’ So should the government introduce a wealth tax? And why is the idea getting more popular? Nosheen Iqbal speaks to columnist and senior economics commentator Aditya Chakrabortty – watch on YouTube Continue reading...

Economy
The Guardian Politics23 Jul 2026

How to Launder Money But Not Like Me, by George Cottrell (as imagined by John Crace)

The Guardian’s parliamentary sketch writer imagines Nigel Farage’s right-hand man’s thinking behind his book, How to Launder Money Anti-money-laundering laws are supposed to stop the illicit flow of money. So far, they seem to have stopped next to nothing. About 5% of the global economy is illicit and only 0.05% is stopped by AML laws. Which makes me, George, something of a rarity. The idiot member of the 1% who actually got done for conspiring to launder money. Just think, while 99% of criminal

PoliticsEconomyReformCrime
The Guardian Politics23 Jul 2026

All change please: Burnham rips up the Starmer playbook – podcast

Andy Burnham’s first week in office has seen him announce a range of measures to help people with the cost of living crisis, and scrap several of Keir Starmer’s big policies. But critics – including former Starmer ministers – are questioning how they will be funded and whether they go far enough. Pippa and Kiran look at what’s behind Burnham’s policy blitz. Please keep sending your comments and questions to Pippa and Kiran at politicsweeklyuk@theguardian.com Read Kiran’s article on Andy Burnham

PoliticsEconomy
The Guardian Politics23 Jul 2026

Business rates to be cut by 20% for England pubs, clubs and music venues

No 10 announces reprieve after Andy Burnham previously pledged to raise tax from e-commerce warehouses and channel it to cutting hospitality sector’s bills Business rates will be cut by 20% for pubs, clubs and live music venues across England from April next year, Downing Street has announced. The discount will apply to nearly 32,000 hospitality businesses and is expected to save a typical pub about £1,100 annually, but will not be available to the very largest live music venues. Continue readi

PoliticsEconomyDefenceHealthcare
The Guardian Politics23 Jul 2026

Andy Burnham could easily ignore the UK’s falling aid commitment. He would be wise not to | Halima Begum

The FCDO’s annual report was quietly released just as Starmer was leaving office – it continues a long-term shift from supporting countries most in need to seeking something in return Somewhere on the new British prime minister’s desk sits a document. It was quietly published last week, in the dying hours of his predecessor’s government. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s annual report cements how the UK aid budget will be allocated until 2029. It was released at the moment of le

Economy
The Guardian Politics22 Jul 2026

Tories ask HMRC to investigate whether Nigel Farage owes tax on £5m gift

Party chair queries status of funds Reform leader received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne The Conservatives have asked HMRC to investigate whether Nigel Farage should have paid tax on the £5m gift her received from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. The party chair, Kevin Hollinrake, wrote to the tax authorities questioning whether it was a payment to compensate him for running to be an MP. Continue reading...

EconomyReform
The Guardian Politics22 Jul 2026

‘He knows what he’s doing’: Burnham’s off-the-cuff remarks inspire headlines and headaches

New PM’s conversational tone is markedly different to his predecessor’s, but carries risk of sowing confusion Before he became Britain’s prime minister, Andy Burnham promised to “do politics differently”. Just three days into his time in Downing Street, that approach is already being put to the test. In the last two days, the prime minister has been accused of performing U-turns over raising the income tax threshold, raising taxes for higher earners and freezing private sector rents. Continue r

PoliticsEconomyHousing
The Guardian Politics22 Jul 2026

The Guardian view on Andy Burnham and devolution: it takes a powerful centre to decentralise power | Editorial

When it comes to driving an agenda from No 10, the prime minister seems to have learned important lessons from his predecessor’s failure Before entering Downing Street, Andy Burnham cited the overcentralisation of power as a cause of Britain’s social and economic malaise. In his first week, the new prime minister has signalled his intent to bolster No 10 as an organ of executive power. The apparent contradiction – fortifying the centre to pursue an agenda of decentralisation – arises from a perv

PoliticsEconomyHousing