Morning Briefing: Wednesday 22 July 2026
- Cheaper Buses & Bills: Single bus fares in England will be capped at £2 from January, down from £3, in Andy Burnham’s second cost-of-living measure in two days after scrapping VAT on electricity. Inflation has also fallen to 2.6 per cent, a 15-month low, largely on cheaper petrol and diesel.
- Petrol & Energy: The relief may be brief: Brent crude has climbed towards $93 a barrel, its highest in five weeks, as an eleventh night of US strikes on Iran and a Houthi blockade of Red Sea shipping keep the pressure on. Forecasters expect inflation to climb back towards 3.4 per cent by November.
- Savings & Markets: Ten-year gilt yields are holding near a two-month high around 5 per cent and the pound has slipped below $1.34, as investors question how the giveaways will be funded before the autumn Budget. Economists warn tax rises may follow. Gold hit a fresh record.
US Bombs Iran for an Eleventh Night as Trump Threatens Natanz
American forces struck Iran for an eleventh consecutive night, with air defences firing over Tehran and blasts reported near Bushehr, Tabriz and Chabahar. US Central Command said the barrage was designed to keep degrading Iran’s ability to…
Rubio Says Iran Is “Not Serious” About Talks as Strikes Go On
The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said Tehran was “not serious” about negotiations as the two sides traded an eleventh night of fire, with a mediator-tabled ten-day ceasefire still unaccepted. Washington is holding out for a longer p…
Oil Nears $93 as the Houthis Turn Back Saudi Tankers
Brent crude climbed towards $93 a barrel, a five-week high, after Yemen’s Houthis enforced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia, forcing two tankers laden with Saudi crude bound for China and India to reverse course in the Red Sea. With the St…
Ukraine Launches a 400-Drone Raid on the Moscow Region
Ukraine struck an oil depot and logistics hubs across the Moscow region in one of its largest drone raids of the war, with Russian officials claiming more than 400 drones approached the capital. President Zelensky said Kyiv had also hit si…
Two Firefighters Die as Record Wildfires Ravage France
Two firefighters were killed battling a blaze near Bordeaux-Mérignac airport as France endures its worst wildfire season on record. More than 42,000 hectares have burned since January, surpassing the 2022 record, with a separate out-of-con…
Burnham Caps Bus Fares at £2 in a Fresh Cost-of-Living Blitz
Single bus fares across England will be capped at £2 from January and held there through 2027, the Prime Minister has announced, cutting the current £3 limit by a third for millions. It is Andy Burnham’s second cost-of-living intervention…
Inflation Slips to 2.6 Per Cent, a 15-Month Low, as Fuel Falls
Inflation fell to 2.6 per cent in the year to June, down from 2.8 per cent in May and below the 2.7 per cent economists had expected, official figures showed. It is the lowest reading since spring 2025, driven chiefly by cheaper diesel and…
Economists Warn Burnham’s Giveaways Point to Autumn Tax Rises
As the government trumpets cheaper energy and bus fares, economists warn the spending points to tax rises at the Chancellor’s first Budget. June borrowing came in at £16bn, some £7.9bn below a year earlier but still ahead of official forec…
Gilts Hold Near 5 Per Cent as Markets Eye the Bank of England
The cooler inflation print offered only limited comfort to bond markets, where British borrowing costs remain the highest in the G7. Ten-year gilt yields are holding around 5 per cent and the pound has slipped below $1.34 to a one-week low…
Sacked Starmer Loyalists Nurse Their Wounds on the Backbenches
Mr Burnham’s swift purge of Sir Keir Starmer’s allies has left a restive bloc of former ministers on the Labour benches, testing party discipline in his opening days. Pointed parting shots — the ousted Treasury minister Darren Jones has al…