The current chief whip Jonathan Reynolds is not making a secret of his hope to return to his old Business and Trade brief under Burnham. Team Andy is staying officially tight-lipped about appointments until Monday despite leaks…
Reynolds was observed re-introducing himself pointedly to Andrew Griffith, the Shadow Business and Trade Secretary in the Commons tea room this week. The two, naturally, did not speak while Reynolds was whipping…
MPs speculate that Reynolds is confident of getting the business and trade brief back – getting the whipping job was seen as a demotion. He was damaged after Guido revealed his ‘solicitor’ CV inflation…
Former Treasury minister and adviser to Burnham in the Makerfield campaign Lord Jim O’Neill, who has turned down a role in his government, said Burnham’s first statement Commons was:
“The last thing investors wanted to hear… gilt yields have risen by a 0.25% in one day, which is a lot. We’ve not had that since Liz Truss days… If your country is under the focus of ‘can they come up with a sensible fiscal strategy’ on a day when the markets think ‘well no, you’re not showing any sign of it’ you’re going to have a tough day…if it stays like this your mortgage rate is going up.”