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Allies of Andy Burnham are increasingly confident he could secure a coronation‑style ascent to the Labour leadership after a sharp rise in MP support following his Makerfield by‑election win, The Guardian reported. Burnham's team has spent recent days rallying MPs and ministers, with early hopes of 200 nominations now described by one minister as "in the dust", with expectations rising towards 300. Such a total could complicate any challenge from Wes Streeting. Some MPs, however, oppose an uncontested takeover and want Burnham's ideas subjected to full scrutiny in a leadership contest.
Keir Starmer was said to be facing a "hard deadline" of Tuesday's cabinet meeting to step down, according to insiders quoted by The Independent, after a senior Labour peer said the prime minister had "absolutely no authority" to continue. Downing Street denied reports that Starmer was preparing to set out a timetable for departure, pointing to his insistence on Friday that he would fight any challenge.
The King will become the first British head of state to publicly disclose his personal tax bill, in a move aimed at increasing transparency around royal finances, The Independent reported. Buckingham Palace said the decision, made during the King's week at Royal Ascot, reflects his wish to enhance clarity around the monarchy's financial affairs. The Prince of Wales has not released similar information since becoming heir. The King's private income includes investment returns, trading profits and revenue from the Balmoral and Sandringham estates.
The boss of TG Jones has issued a final plea to creditors to back a restructuring plan that would close up to 150 of its 450 stores but keep the retailer afloat, according to The Sunday Times. Chief executive Alex Willson said the business "doesn't have the cash to continue" without court approval for the plan, which would protect around 5,000 jobs. Creditors were offered revised terms last week, including a larger share of future profits. If approved, landlords would face steep rent cuts as part of a turnaround led by Willson and owner Modella Capital.
The future of one of Britain's largest steelworks has been thrown back into uncertainty after exclusive rescue talks collapsed, The Times reported. Speciality Steel UK, formerly owned by Sanjeev Gupta, had been in negotiations with Norwegian firm Blastr, which was granted preferred‑bidder status in April. The exclusivity period has now expired without agreement. The steelworks, operating across Rotherham and Sheffield, employs around 1,500 people. The government took control of the business last year after Gupta faced a winding‑up order from creditors.
GP practices in England are receiving an estimated £650m annually for almost five million patients who do not exist, due to outdated records failing to reflect deaths or people moving area, The Telegraph reported. Practices receive roughly £130 per registered patient each year, meaning the gap between the 63.4m registered patients and the 58.6m population results in significant overpayments. Shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew said outdated systems and paper records were contributing to waste across the NHS.
Support for the monarchy has dropped to its lowest level since Ipsos began polling on the Royal family more than three decades ago, The Telegraph reported. Just 55% of Britons now back retaining the monarchy, down 11 points in three years and well below the 80% peak recorded during the late Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012. The decline was driven largely by younger age groups, with overall support now below levels seen even after the late Queen's "annus horribilis" in 1992.
