Morning Briefing: Monday 13 July 2026
- Petrol & Energy: Oil jumped around 4% to about $79 a barrel as markets reopened, reversing the recent easing after Iran and the US traded strikes over the Strait of Hormuz. That renews the upward pressure on pump prices — already about 20p above pre-war levels — and on energy bills.
- A New Prime Minister This Week: Andy Burnham’s coronation week begins — nominations close Tuesday, leader on 17 July, PM around 20 July — and his first test is a revolt by nearly 80 Labour MPs over today’s immigration Bill. The choices ahead will shape household budgets.
- Heat, Fire & Water: The heat holds into midweek (35-36C) with the wildfire risk “exceptional” — a major incident is still active in North Wales — and hosepipe bans are widening. Avoid open water, ditch disposable barbecues, save water, and check on the vulnerable.
US Strikes Iran Again as the Battle Over Hormuz Rages
American forces struck Iran again early on Monday, the fourth wave in a week, hitting air defences, coastal radars and missile sites in what US Central Command again called an effort to stop Iran threatening shipping. Iran’s Revolutionary…
Oil Jumps and Asian Markets Slip as the War Reopens
Oil climbed around 4% when markets reopened on Monday, with Brent crude rising to about $79 a barrel — its highest in three weeks — as traders priced in the weekend’s escalation and the threat to the Strait of Hormuz. Asian equities fell,…
Talks Go On in Oman With a Plan to Split the Strait in Two
Even as the strikes continued, the US and Iran kept talking in Oman, where mediators have drafted a tentative plan to divide the Strait of Hormuz into two managed corridors: a southern lane in Omani waters, open to free navigation as befor…
Wildfires and Mass Evacuations Sweep Southern Europe
A severe heatwave has driven major wildfires across southern Europe, forcing mass evacuations from France to the Balkans. Around ten thousand people were moved from the French Pyrenees, and tens of thousands are under evacuation or shelter…
Ukraine’s Patriot Stocks Run Dry as Russia Presses On
Ukraine’s stock of Patriot interceptor missiles has “run dry”, President Zelensky said, as he reworked his diplomacy to speed the deliveries allies promised at last week’s NATO summit. Russian attacks over the past day killed at least five…
Immigration Bill Faces the Commons as 80 Labour MPs Rebel
The government’s Immigration and Asylum Bill reaches its second reading in the Commons this afternoon, and it lands as the first real test of Andy Burnham’s incoming leadership. Almost eighty Labour MPs have written to the prime minister-i…
Heatwave Holds Into Midweek as Wildfire Risk Stays “Exceptional”
The heat will not break today, with amber health alerts running across most of England until at least Tuesday and temperatures forecast to reach 35-36C mid-week before thunderstorms are expected to bring relief only towards the weekend. Th…
Burnham’s Coronation Week Begins as Nominations Close
This is the week Andy Burnham is expected to be confirmed as Labour leader and prime minister-in-waiting. Nominations from Labour MPs close on Tuesday, and with Burnham the only declared candidate and backed well beyond the threshold, he i…
Oil’s Jump Renews the Pressure on Petrol and Energy Bills
The weekend escalation in the Gulf has reversed the recent easing in fuel prices, with oil climbing around 4% to about $79 a barrel as markets reopened on Monday. Petrol had been falling as the war premium drained away — the average pump p…
Hosepipe Bans Widen as Drought Stress Deepens
Water restrictions are spreading as the prolonged heat deepens drought stress across England. Temporary use bans are now in force or imminent across several suppliers — South East Water in Kent and Sussex, Southern Water in Hampshire and t…