Thursday 14 May 2026 6:22 am FTSE 100 Live: Stocks and bonds brace for Labour government civil war
Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The past few days of political drama is set to come to a head today and UK assets are bracing for a showdown. Gilt yields see-sawed yesterday as Sir Keir Starmer rallied his troops to defend his premiership. But some doubt was cast as reports emerged health secretary Wes Streeting is gearing up for a challenge.
We are expecting to hear from Streeting today, where he is reported to be confirming his resignation and bid to overthrow Starmer. This is also expected to lead to the entry of other candidates into the fight for Downing Street with Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham also tipped to have found a seat to make a run for Parliament. Movement in the bond market have been driven by fears of the government lurching to the left with a looser fiscal policy. Elsewhere, pressures on the bond market as well as stock market have been driven by the prolonged conflict in the Middle East.
On Wednesday, the West’s international energy watchdog warned that oil stockpiles were being drained at a record rate in April as the war in Iran continues to choke supply in an “unprecedented” supply shock. Donald Trump is in China this week for key talks with Beijing over ways to get the oil supply flowing again as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to clog up global output. In the opening remarks of their meeting, China’s President Xi Jinping said China and the US “both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation”.
We will be bringing you the latest on this and more. Here are a few of our top stories this morning: UK businesses eyeing shift to ‘more predictable’ tax regimes, Housing market ‘still in grip’ of Iran war slump, Deliveroo takes on the high street in grocery push, Labour ‘failing’ renters: Brits work for 133 days to pay landlords, Fractile lands $220m as ministers hail ‘vote of confidence’ in UK AI.
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