Rachel Reeves delivers the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s annual Mansion House speech on Tuesday © PA Images
Rachel Reeves delivered the Chancellor’s annual Mansion House speech on Tuesday evening after publishing details of a mammoth series of reforms planned for the finance industry to encourage retail investment and cut red tape. The ‘Leeds Reforms’ – named after a summit of finance executives in Leeds on Tuesday morning – include four key pillars to roll back regulation that has gone too far in seeking to eliminate risk, deliver targeted changes in the areas where the UK already has particular strengths, make changes to capital requirements to unlock more productive capital, and introduce measures to boost retail investment. As part of the package of reforms, the Financial Ombudsman Service will reduce the interest rate it applies before a decision from 8% to base rate plus 1, the Senior Managers and Certification Regime will be streamlined, a new competitive framework for captive insurance will be introduced, legislation on the asset management regulatory regime will be brought forward early next year, the PRA and FCA will launch a scale-up unit for FinTech, and the Office for Investment will launch a new concierge service.
As part of changes to capital requirements, the Bank of England will raise the asset threshold for MREL requirements to between £25 and £40 billion, the Government will implement lower capital requirements for domestically focussed banks from January 2027, the Chancellor will “meaningfully reform” the UK’s ringfencing regime, and the Financial Policy Committee’s will review the overall level of bank capital needed for UK financial stability. The Chancellor also announced changes to boost returns on savings, with Long-Term Asset Funds to be included in stocks and shares ISAs, a brand-new type of targeted support for consumers to be introduced, and a campaign to promote the benefits of retail investment to be launched next April.
Continuing with the theme of exhausting the entire political and public affairs industry ahead of the summer recess, two of the eight Industrial Strategy Sector Plan were published this week. To coincide with the Chancellor’s Leeds Reforms, the Treasury published the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, setting out the ambition for the UK to be the ‘world’s most innovative full-service financial centre’ by 2035. The strategy ‘places boosting the competitiveness of the UK’s financial services sector at the heart of the government’s plan to grow the economy’. With the Government also set to publish the Finance Bill on Monday, it’s fair to say Treasury Ministers have adopted a ‘go hard or go home’ approach in the lead up to recess… More details on the Life Sciences sector plan also published this week, below.
2 & 4 – Sitting days until the House of Commons and House of Lords go on their summer holidays, respectively.
3.6% – Inflation rate in the year to June, up from 3.4% in May
4.7% – UK unemployment rate in May, the highest figure in four years.
£155,000-159,000 – salary of the PM’s Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney, the highest paid Special Adviser.
155 – Size of Labour’s current working majority, after 5 MPs had the Whip suspended this week.
751 – more votes the Conservatives won than Reform UK for a council by-election in Staffordshire, in a ward that Reform UK had won in May. The Green Party finished in second place.
2 – potential games to go for the Lionesses in Euro 2025, after they beat Sweden on penalties in the quarter-final last night.
During his first official visit to the UK as Chancellor of Germany on Thursday, Keir Starmer and Chancellor Friedrich Merz signed a Treaty on ‘friendship and bilateral cooperation’, which included agreements on defence cooperation and internal security, having identified ‘the Russian Federation’s brutal war of aggression on the European continent as the most significant and direct threat to their security’. The new Treaty detailed closer collaboration between the two nations on issues ranging from migration and security to business, commercial and infrastructure links. Germany also announced a landmark commitment to make it illegal to facilitate illegal migration to the UK.
Five Labour MPs were suspended and a further 3 lost their jobs this week as Starmer sought to instil discipline in the ranks following a surprisingly rebellious 12 months for a first-year, landslide-majority Government. 2024ers Neil Duncan-Jordan, Chris Hinchliff, Brian Leishman, and 2015er Rachael Maskell had the Labour Whip suspended, due to their recent vocal opposition to Government policy. In addition, Rosena Allin-Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, and Mohammad Yasin were sacked as Trade Envoys for South Africa, Ghana and Pakistan respectively. Separately, veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott was suspended from the party for a second time for doubling-down on past comments about antisemitism.
Joe Wicks is teaming up with the Government to launch a new fitness series encouraging kids to enjoy ‘short bursts of movement’ throughout their day to transform their physical and mental health. The announcement came in the week it was revealed obesity rates have doubled since the 1990s, and over 20% of 11 year olds are obese – rising to almost one third in areas with higher levels of poverty and deprivation.
The Department for Transport announced a £650m Electric Car Grant scheme to 'slash electric car prices', with 'discounts up to £3,750 available at the point of sale for new eligible electric cars priced at or under £37,000.' Funding is available until the 2028-29 financial year, and is part of the Government's £4.5bn overall investment to turbocharge the switch to EVs.
The Life Sciences Sector Plan – the latest of the eight key sectors in the Industrial Strategy – was published, setting out 'a ten-year mission to harness British science and innovation to deliver long-term economic growth and a stronger, prevention-focused NHS.' The plan aims to position the UK as the leading life sciences economy in Europe by 2030, and the third globally by 2035, behind only the United States and China, and is built on three core pillars: enabling world-class R&D; making the UK an 'outstanding place' to start, scale and invest; and driving health innovation and NHS reform.
Defence Secretary John Healey MP revealed a data breach in 2022 cost the UK £400m as the MOD rushed to evacuate Afghans revealed in the breach who were potentially under threat from the Taliban. A superinjunction was granted in 2023 after journalists became aware of the breach, banning any mention of the breach or even the existence of the injunction, to try and prevent Taliban discovering the existence of the list. The superinjunction has now been lifted after 900 Afghans and 3,600 of their family members have been brought to the UK, with the High Court determining the threat is now not the level it was believed at the time. It has since been revealed details of a number of Special Forces and MI6 personnel were on the list as UK contacts.
The Government “served up” its Food Strategy this week. Dupped the Good Food Cycle, Defra described it as a ‘a recipe aimed at driving a generational change in the nation’s relationship with food.’ [Editor’s note: these are the kind of puns we can all get behind]. The strategy sets out ten priority outcomes needed to build a thriving food sector in the UK while tackling challenges from rising obesity rates to climate change impacts on production.
Former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly delivered a speech to the IPPR on the workings of government, that he was keen to stress was not about setting out his stall early ahead of the inevitable next leadership election... The former Tory leadership hopeful emphasised the urgent need for honesty and accountability in politics, warning that repeated failures to deliver on bold promises erode public trust not just in governments but in democracy itself. He stressed that effective governance requires discipline, not “performance art”, and called for a culture of delivery over rhetoric, advocating for realistic economic policies, immigration reform, and housing development, while urging ministers to take responsibility and lead decisively rather than delegating power to unelected bodies.
DSIT published its Compute Roadmap, to 'position the country as an AI maker rather than an AI taker' and help support economic growth and transform public services. As part of the Roadmap, the UK's AI Research Resource will be expanded twenty-fold over the next 5 years, delivered in partnership with UKRI, Nvidia, HPE, Dell and Intel.. In addition, a network of National Supercomputing Centres will also be set up across the country, and the Sovereign AI Unit has been established, backed with £500m of funding. A dedicated AI for Science strategy will also be published in the Autumn.
President Trump’s second state visit to the UK will take place on the 17th to 19th September. Conveniently, the House of Commons rises for the Conference recess the day before and so the US President will be unable to address MPs as French President Macron did last week; however the trip will likely follow a similar format, with the President hosted by the King at Windsor Castle.
US President Donald Trump has pledged to make new weapons available to Ukraine, announcing on Monday that the US will sell weapons, including the sought after Patriot missile defence system, to NATO members who will then in turn supply them to Ukraine. The US President also heavily criticised Russian President Putin this week, stating in a BBC interview that whilst he was “not done with him”, he was “disappointed” following his continued attacks on Ukraine. He issued a new threat to Putin, stating that if he didn’t agree to a ceasefire deal within 50 days, he would hit Russia with secondary tariffs of 100%, as well as any country who traded with Russia.
England will play Italy in the semi-final of the Women’s Euro’s next Tuesday, after defeating Sweden on penalties on Thursday. Spain and Switzerland, and France and Germany play each other this evening for the remaining semi-final spots, ahead of the final a week on Sunday.
With Summer Recess just round the corner, the week saw the Deprivation of Citizenship Orders (Effect During Appeal) Bill complete its committee and remaining stages, while the Royal Albert Hall Bill passed its second reading. The Commons also saw Opposition Day debates on everyone’s favourite subjects, welfare and taxes, and MPs also got the chance to debate the Property (Digital Assets) Bill, which will return after recess for further scrutiny.
In the Lords, Conservative and Liberal-Democrat peers successfully passed amendments curbing elements of the Employment Rights Bill’s provisions on zero hour contracts (watch those get removed in the Commons…). Peers also made further progress on the Renters’ Rights Bill, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill commenced its committee stage and consideration of the Football Governance Bill was completed, with the Bill now awaiting Royal Assent.
And finally, in news everyone’s been waiting for… recess dates for the next year have also been announced, with the Government doing the right thing and ending parliamentary business an entire week before Christmas. You can find the whole list here.
Regional inequality is exacerbating the growing challenges facing many young northerners, so concludes this year’s State of the North report by the IPPR. The report explores how many young people are seeing their opportunities and chance of intergenerational social mobility shrinking, as despite years of ‘levelling up’ and closing regional divides, deep inequalities remain. The report also argues that lowering the voting age to 16 is “essential” in helping “to build a positive norm of democratic participation over the longer term”.
Step aside Keir Starmer… a new poll from Ipsos puts Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham ahead of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and Health Secretary for who the public think would be a good leader of the Labour Party. Andy Burnham received 35% compared to Keir Starmer’s 26%, Angela Rayner’s 23% and Wess Streeting’s 19%.
London has the worst housing shortfall in Europe, according to a new study by the Centre for Policy Studies. The study found that there has been an ‘alarming’ fall in housing in London. Only 2,158 private housing constructions were started in London in the first six months of 2025, which accounted for only 4.9% of the Government’s target. During April, May, and June, 23 London boroughs saw zero starts on developments with 20 or more private homes.
Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday! When does a meme officially die? Maybe it’s after a certain amount of time - or maybe when our politicians join in….
First up was Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who took to X to share a video of his fishing trip, looking pleased after catching a relatively small fish, and waving to the camera to the tune of Jet2’s commercial audio - a viral hit on TikTok recently. Naturally, his video included a shot of an overcrowded small boat crossing, while the audio explained discounts are available for a family of four. Classy.
Next up was Labour’s Tom Rutland who used the meme to highlight the party’s introduction of votes at 16. “That’s four votes for a family with two sixth formers,” he posted. Millennial LOL.
Finally, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband also joined in on the fun, though he took the opportunity to use the audio to showcase his idea of a fun holiday: exploring the site of the Rampion 2 wind farm. Relaxing.
Best leave it to Gen Z folks…
