Midway through 10 days in Scotland. Nice to get away from it all!
Andy Bruce (Reuters)
@bruceandy.bsky.social
Reuters Journalist of the Year 2025: 'Scoop of the Year' UK economy and north of England correspondent. ☀️ Stockport ☀️ 💬 Signal: bruce.369
EXCLUSIVE: Voters across the political spectrum are warming to Britain's new PM Andy Burnham and believe he’ll deliver on his promises, The POLITICO Poll by Public First has found. 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/what...
Pro tip: engage with local press. Takes 2 mins and it: • shows you care about a local issue • signifies that whatever town you're visiting isn't just the next input into the rolling PR machine (even if it is) • prevents being called out like this 👇 www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-n...
Derbyshire Live denied chance to ask new PM Andy Burnham questions during visit
Mr Burnham visited rail manufacturer Alstom to launch a new education policy
derbytelegraph.co.uk
End of term at the Bank of England: the last rate decision and press conference by Andrew Bailey before the summer break Economists see a repeat of June’s 7-2 vote to keep rates on hold as U.S.-Iran conflict drags on www.reuters.com/business/ban...
Bank of England to keep rates steady while oil prices gyrate
The Bank of England looks set to keep interest rates steady on Thursday as it weighs the impact of the on-again, off-again Iran war that has closed the Strait of Hormuz for the past five months and ...
reuters.com
We should be better at saying how great Britain is at building great businesses Biggest venture capital market in Europe, the world’s third largest We have research institutions + entrepreneurial talent + a global financial centre Sentiment influences outcomes. Let’s be more positive!
UK businesses and consumers more positive, but boost may not last - www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-...
UK businesses and consumers more positive, but boost may not last
British firms reported the first rise in activity in three months in July, helped by a brief respite in the Iran war, while consumers grew in confidence and spent more, according to data that may onl...
reuters.com
New UK PM Burnham to stick with City-friendly agenda, person familiar with the matter says - www.reuters.com/business/fin...
New UK PM Burnham to stick with City-friendly agenda, person familiar with the matter says
Britain's new government under Prime Minister Andy Burnham intends to preserve the previous administration's pro-growth approach to the financial services sector including regulation, according to ...
reuters.com
Bugbear of mine for a long time. Maybe there should be a longer-term metaphor. Turning the ship. Dunno. Of course if I were chancellor, my catchphrase would simply be: "You have years of grinding structural reform ahead, hopefully it will be worth it, you idiots!"
Giles Wilkes@gilesyb.bsky.social · 2w agostep 1. realise that economies are not car engines step 2. conclude from this that "kickstarting" them is not a useful metaphor
Pros and cons of the Burnham VAT cut. Pro 1) early indication he "gets" squeeze households feel 2) may offset next price cap lift 3) only on electricity so at margin good for rebalancing gas/electricity ratio as needed to promote wider electrification 4) temporary 5) cuts inflation in 2026
UK inflation slows in temporary boost for new PM Burnham - www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-...
UK inflation slows in temporary boost for new PM Burnham
British inflation cooled by more than expected last month driven by a fall in petrol prices after a brief de-escalation in the Iran war, but the slowdown offers only temporary relief to new Prime Min...
reuters.com
Major machinery of govt changes including - finally! - the creation of an Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet Long overdue and excellent news that the Burnham govt has grasped this nettle questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-stat...
Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament
Information from UK Parliament on written questions & answers, written statements and daily reports.
questions-statements.parliament.uk
So you are saying that you don‘t know how to generate rents from an increasingly commoditised technology, and want the government to help preserve your valuations?
The Wall Street Journal@wsj.com · 2w agoOpenAI and Anthropic executives are sounding the alarm about the rise of cheap AI, particularly powerful new models produced in China, suggesting they will lead to a “dystopian” AI future and present unacceptable security risks without regulation.
I fear U.S. apprehension towards Ed Miliband stems from his time as stock image "flu guy" on NBC news, almost 10 years ago
Trump Action Tracker@trumpactiontracker.bsky.social · last mo.President Trump warns Andy Burnham against making Ed Miliband chancellor, interfering in how another country and ally runs the country TAT: [Foreign policy | Undermining democracy]
Resolution Foundation puts fiscal headroom at around £10 billion. Lowest estimate I've seen recently. Others in recent weeks: • Bank of America: £19b • JP Morgan: £15b • EY ITEM Club: £17.1b • Berenberg: £13b (damn the media for focusing on it! 😉👇)
Andy Bruce (Reuters)@bruceandy.bsky.social · 3w agoIncoming OBR boss Haskel blames the media for having a fixation on fiscal headroom. Maybe he can explain why gilts would often react sharply to news around borrowing/headroom, or government's decision to adopt a fiscal rule where that is the only pass/fail metric? Is that the media too?
"The data highlight the twin challenges Andy Burnham faces as he takes office." ✍️ L&W chief exec @stephenevans.bsky.social responds to today's labour market statistics from ONS.
Labour market stats response, July 2026 - Learning and Work Institute
L&W's chief executive Stephen Evans responds to the latest labour market data from ONS.
learningandwork.org.uk
I worry that fuzzy language around this kind of thing is risky. Allows some people to run away with the most extreme interpretation of your intent (see "in hock" comments). Or some investors might think it's worth a punt on that and market shifts a bit (eg yesterday). And then a narrative builds.
On the day Andy Burnham becomes UK PM, a northern city loses trains to London - www.reuters.com/world/uk/day...
On the day Andy Burnham becomes UK PM, a northern city loses trains to London
On the day Andy Burnham became prime minister after vowing to give greater powers and investment to the north of England, the region suffered a setback as a key train operator cut many direct servic...
reuters.com
Feel like there is a small chance might accidentally refer to Denis in copy at some point in the coming weeks
I think his last interview as England manager summed up Kevin Keegan. A painful moment but showed hunility and class. m.youtube.com/watch?v=o8xC...
Kevin Keegan resigns as England manager
YouTube video by Sky Sports Retro
m.youtube.com
Got a chance to do better than the last Andy B* prime minister (L if you must)
For instance, why are we trying to build manufacturing capacity if we aren’t pushing for trade liberalisation? And not surface deep trade deals but thoroughgoing arrangements that further embed our intermediate goods into global supply chains. Tariff reductions from already low levels don’t do this.
So the macro policy choices shouldn’t be framed as services or manufacturing; nationalisation or privatisation; but, rather, the axis are integration or autarky. Policies that shift us towards deeper global trade integration make us richer; those that cut the other way require stark rebalancing.
Let's hope it's a great day for every Andy B from Greater Manchester!
