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Andrew Griffith and Tom Tugendhat join Badenoch’s top team in Tory reshuffle

Conservative leader sacks shadow chancellor Mel Stride and shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel

Kemi Badenoch sacked her shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, and the shadow foreign secretary, Priti Patel, in a sweeping Conservative reshuffle on Monday, replacing Stride with Andrew Griffith, and Patel with Tom Tugendhat.

Stride, who had been shadow chancellor since Badenoch became leader, was widely seen among Tories as failing to make an impression at a time when Labour had been under pressure over the economy.

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© Photograph: PA Images/Alamy

© Photograph: PA Images/Alamy

© Photograph: PA Images/Alamy

Tax promises, defence targets and Iran: Andy Burnham’s budget headaches

As economic circumstances worsen, the PM’s commitments have left him and the chancellor in a tight spot

When Andy Burnham made his first speech after returning as an MP, he promised that as prime minister he would oversee “the most significant change moment in our politics for 40 years”. His style, direction and communication has been a big shift from Keir Starmer’s approach, but as he heads into the autumn, the new prime minister faces some very similar problems.

With an early budget in late October, and worsening economic circumstances, Burnham has made promises and commitments that put him in a tight spot. Here are some of the constraints over the coming months that Burnham and the chancellor, John Healey, must contend with in their autumn budget.

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© Photograph: Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA

© Photograph: Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA

© Photograph: Annabel Lee-Ellis/PA

Fed chair says delivering ‘stable prices’ is central bank’s job as inflation persists

28 August 2026 at 18:48

However, Kevin Warsh didn’t say if interest rates would change in coming months, as inflation remains stubborn

The US Federal Reserve is not done fighting high inflation, its chair, Kevin Warsh, said in his first major speech in the role on Friday, emphasizing that it was “the Fed’s job to deliver stable prices”.

Warsh did not indicate where the Fed will take interest rates in the coming months, despite US inflation remaining stubbornly above the central bank’s 2% target amid the war in Iran. But his speech was taken by markets as a signal that rates may rise in the coming months, a move that may put him at odds with Donald Trump, who has aggressively called for rates to be cut.

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© Photograph: Natalie Behring/Getty Images

© Photograph: Natalie Behring/Getty Images

© Photograph: Natalie Behring/Getty Images

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