News in Review Wednesday 22nd July 2026

A dramatic week in Downing Street following Keir Starmer’s departure from Number 10 and the UK economy shows modest growth

Key takeaways:

  • Andy Burnham officially became the leader of the Labour Party last Friday and outlined a series of key promises
  • The government’s first major policy decision is for VAT to be removed from domestic energy bills from October
  • Latest GDP figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the UK economy returned to growth in May