The energy price cap story is the most immediate domestic item. Ofgem’s new cap takes effect in July and will add £221 to the average household bill, with the regulator attributing the rise directly to the impact of the conflict involving Iran on wholesale gas markets. That’s a meaningful input into the inflation picture and will complicate the Bank of England’s path on rate cuts — services inflation was already sticky and a fresh energy shock, even a modest one, keeps the headline number elevated heading into autumn.

Tony Blair’s intervention is worth noting for what it signals about Labour’s internal temperature. His 5,700-word essay accused Starmer, Burnham, and Streeting of putting the party’s future at risk, called for Labour to abandon its current net zero position, and argued for a closer relationship with Washington. Blair’s influence on the parliamentary party is limited, but the fact he’s chosen this moment — with Starmer’s poll numbers under pressure — to go public with this level of criticism suggests the leadership is more exposed than it would like to admit.

The BP boardroom story has moved on. The FT is reporting that chairman Albert Manifold’s removal was driven by allegations of bullying behaviour and concerns about his use of personal devices. That puts additional pressure on CEO Meg O’Neill, who now has to manage a leadership transition while the company is already navigating a major strategic reset. Worth watching for any board announcements in the next few days.

Hong Kong has overtaken Switzerland as the leading hub for global offshore wealth, according to FT reporting, driven by a surge of mainland Chinese capital being spread across jurisdictions. For anyone with exposure to Asian private banking or wealth management, this is a meaningful structural shift — and it suggests wealthy mainland clients are hedging rather than repatriating, which tells you something about confidence in the domestic Chinese outlook.

On geopolitics, the Strait of Hormuz situation has not resolved. Iran said no agreement has been reached on the strait, and South Korea has assessed that a cargo ship struck there on 4 May was likely hit by an Iranian missile. The vessel was operated by HMM Co. With energy prices already rising on Iran-related supply concerns, any further escalation in the strait would feed directly back into the gas and oil price picture.

The FT’s piece on AI and consulting is worth a read if you have time. The argument is that well-funded smaller challengers can now replicate the analytical horsepower of the Big Four at a fraction of the cost, which has real implications for how corporates procure advisory work and, eventually, for the fee structures that underpin those franchises.

Tomorrow brings the second estimate of UK Q1 GDP from the ONS, which will be the first significant data point this week for anyone watching the Bank’s next move.

Sources

BBC News, Al Jazeera, Guardian, The Economist, TechCrunch, FT, Politico, Ars Technica — 2026-05-27