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Cable Crashes As Burnham Signals Challenge To UK PM Starmer

Zero Rss
2 months 4 weeks ago
Cable Crashes As Burnham Signals Challenge To UK PM Starmer

Update (1345ET): Following Wes Streeting's earlier resignation "having lost confidence" in Starmer's leadership, the UK PM is now under further pressure as Andy Burnham opened a possible path to challenge Keir Starmer for the prime minister’s job, after a Labour member of Parliament resigned and urged the Greater Manchester mayor to run for his seat.

Andy Burnham

Bloomberg reports that the MP, Josh Simons, announced plans to step down from his Manchester area seat, freeing up a House of Commons constituency that Burnham would need to mount a bid to become leader of the governing Labour Party.

“I am standing aside so that Andy Burnham can return to his home, fight to re-enter Parliament, and if elected, drive the change our country is crying out for,” Simons wrote.

“Nothing short of urgent, radical, courageous reform will make a difference.”

With UK bond markets closed, the outlet for positioning after this headline (and the anxiety over "radical reform") was the FX market and cable plunged on the news...

Burnham separately said he would seek permission from Labour’s National Executive Committee, a panel dominated by Starmer loyalists that blocked a similar bid earlier this year.

“Much bigger change is needed at a national level if everyday life is to be made more affordable again,” Burnham said in a statement to Manchester Evening News.

“This is why I now seek people’s support to return to Parliament: to bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people.”

There will be several hurdles standing in Burnham’s way. Starmer’s allies on Labour’s governing body blocked him from contesting a seat in the Manchester area when it became vacant earlier this year, citing the need to avoid a costly election for the mayoral post he would have to vacate. They could do so again.

*  *  *

With UK PM Starmer's leadership under increasing scrutiny, UK Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, has issued a statement via social media that he is resigning his post.

Wes Streeting

Streeting says that while there are good reasons to remain in post, he has lost confidence in Starmer’s leadership:

"As you know from our conversation earlier this week, having lost confidence in your leadership, I have concluded that it would be dishonourable and unprincipled to [remain in post]."

He went on:

"It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election and that Labour MPs and Labour unions want the debate about what comes next to be a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism.

Setting out the reasons for his resignation, he pointed to last week's "unprecedented" local elections results, in which the government's "unpopularity" was "a major and common factor" across Britain, the threat of Reform UK as one of the key reasons for his departure from government, and policy "mistakes".

"Where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift. This was underscored by your speech on Monday," he wrote.

pic.twitter.com/9qI2Bj35ZK

— Wes Streeting (@wesstreeting) May 14, 2026

Streeting is widely thought to be planning to challenge Starmer for the Labour leadership, but he does not announce the start of a formal bid in his letter.

For now there is little to no reaction in GBP or gilts (as several market observers believe any new leadership will deliver more orthodox and less "free shit" fiscal policies) but Polymarket shows the odds of Starmer being gone by the end of May are soaring...

Allies of Mr Streeting, who handed in his resignation as the Health Secretary on Thursday, have made little secret that he is ready to become prime minister and has a comprehensive plan to change the country.

Here is The Telegraph laying out what a Streeting premiership look like?

The economy

Mr Streeting said last year that he was “really uncomfortable with the level of taxation in this country”, suggesting he would resist further increases. Speaking in December, he admitted the Government was “asking a lot” of individuals and businesses with historically high taxes. But he also warned Britain had “a level of indebtedness that we need to take very seriously”, indicating that tax cuts would also be unlikely. He has previously defended Labour’s decision to increase employers’ National Insurance, saying the raise had paid for more NHS appointments. Mr Streeting has previously proposed several radical changes to the tax system. In a 2020 interview, he suggested equalising capital gains tax with income tax, replacing inheritance tax with a “lifetime gifts tax” and increasing corporation tax. He also said all new tax and spending plans should be put through a “progressive impact test” to ensure they helped people on low and middle incomes. But unlike his Left-wing rivals, he has also long advocated that Labour should stick to strict fiscal rules, balancing day-to-day spending with tax revenues.

Defense

Mr Streeting caused a stir in Westminster last month when he suggested that savings should be found from the welfare budget to fund defence. The Health Secretary acknowledged that Britain needed to put more money into the military and that the cash “has to come from somewhere”. While he ruled out taking the money from the NHS budget, he signalled an openness to find it from other areas of spending, such as benefits. Other than on that issue, Mr Streeting has largely backed Sir Keir’s plans to boost defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP by the mid-2030s. Last month, he defended the Government’s handling of the military, insisting that Britain was still “the cornerstone of European defence and security”. Defending the repeated delays to the Government’s defence investment plan, he said Downing Street was taking the time to “get it right”.

Brexit

Mr Streeting is one of the most high-profile Remainers in the Cabinet and was a passionate campaigner for Britain to remain in the EU. Last year, he strongly suggested Labour should consider taking the UK back into a customs union with Europe, saying it would boost growth. But he did insist that the manifesto pledge not to return to freedom of movement with the Continent must stay, ruling out the single market. “The best way for us to get more growth into our economy is a deeper trading relationship with the EU,” he told The Observer in December. “The challenge is any economic partnership we have can’t lead to a return to freedom of movement.” Mr Streeting has long been an advocate of closer EU ties. In 2018, while a backbencher, he rebelled against then leader Jeremy Corbyn, calling for him to commit Labour to keeping Britain in the single market and a customs union.

Immigration

Mr Streeting is naturally a liberal on immigration and has repeatedly signalled his discomfort at the Government’s clampdown on visas and asylum. He criticised Sir Keir’s “island of strangers” speech and has previously said Britain relies on migrants to care for an ageing population. Last November, he admitted he was not comfortable with plans laid out by the Home Secretary to deport families who arrived in the UK illegally. In a 2018 speech, Mr Streeting argued that “we rely on attracting people from overseas, particularly with our ageing population and shrinking working-age population”. But as far back as then, the Health Secretary was stressing the point that Britain needed to increase education and training for its domestic workforce. It is a principle he has taken into government, criticising the health service’s reliance on foreign doctors and admitting voters had “lost confidence in the immigration system”.

The NHS

One of the most notable things Mr Streeting has done in his two years in post is abolishing NHS England, the world’s largest quango. The decision came as a surprise to Westminster and demonstrated that the Health Secretary was unafraid to make significant structural changes to government. It will also put him and his ministers back in direct control of the NHS, hinting at a hands-on approach and a willingness to take on personal responsibility. Waiting lists have fallen on Mr Streeting’s watch and pledges to further improve the health service would be a core part of his premiership. He has also shown himself willing to go to war with the medical unions, warning that their pay demands for junior doctors would “break the country”. But although he has repeatedly spoken of the need to reform the NHS, any change to its funding model would be off the table under Mr Streeting. The Health Secretary has attacked Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, for suggesting the UK should consider moving to a French-style public insurance model.

Streeting is only one of the party figures likely to throw their hats into the ring in the event of a formal leadership contest. Former deputy premier Angela Rayner said Thursday morning that she had been cleared of wrongdoing in a probe into her tax affairs, while there is a large faction on the party’s left working to secure a parliamentary seat for Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who can’t run without one.

For Starmer to face a formal leadership challenge, a potential successor would have to be nominated by 20% of Labour Members of Parliament. The party currently has 403 MPs, putting that threshold at 81. The ensuing contest would be decided by preferential votes by Labour Party members and affiliates, with precise voting eligibility set by Labour’s governing body.

Tyler Durden Thu, 05/14/2026 - 13:45
Tyler Durden

Separate Peace? Saudi Arabia Floats Regional Non-Aggression Pact With Iran

Zero Rss
2 months 4 weeks ago
Separate Peace? Saudi Arabia Floats Regional Non-Aggression Pact With Iran

Are regional Gulf countries seeking to forge there own separate peace deals with Iran, apart from the United States? That's what fresh Thursday reporting in the Financial Times suggests.

The report says Saudi Arabia is supposedly considering a non-aggression pact between the Middle East states and Iran after the military conflict between the United States and Iran ends, the FT indicates.

via Express Tribune

Citing diplomatic sources, it describes that Riyadh is assessing a model of the Helsinki Process, which helped reduce tensions in Europe during the Cold War, and created an uneasy East-West peace in post-WW2 Europe. 

The driving rationale behind the potential diplomatic framework is that while Iran is "weakened," the reality is that it still "poses a threat to its neighbors."

An Arab diplomat cited by FT said that a non-aggression pact modelled along the lines of the Helsinki process is something likely to be embraced by most Arab and Muslim states, as well as by Iranian leader.

"It all depends on who is in it - in the current climate, you are not going to be able to get Iran and Israel... Without Israel, it could be counterproductive because after Iran, they are seen as the biggest source of conflict. But Iran is not going anywhere, and this is why the Saudis are pushing it," the source stated.

The Abraham Accords have theoretically attempted to build a normalization and non-aggression foundation involving Arab states and Israel, but other countries and populations in the region are suspicious of it for the very fact that it is seen fundamentally as a pro-US and pro-Israeli axis of alignment. 

As for for Tehran and Riyadh, they recently have experience with direct, good faith talks, given that it was only in 2023 that China made history when it brokered a landmark normalization deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia - after which mutual embassies opened and went into operation.

This week, Reuters and other sources revealed for the first time that at the height of Trump's Operation Epic Fury which began in late February and endured through March into early April, the UAE directly fired back on Iran as it was under attack by drones and missiles. Also interesting is the fresh revelation that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu made a secret visit to the UAE as the Iran war was in full swing - though UAE has officially denied it, perhaps not wanting to inflame Arab public sentiment.

Kuwait also reportedly directly attacked Iranian interests, and additionally the Saudis attacked Shia Iraqi militias seen as cooperating with Iran.

Highways, railroads and ports in Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E. and Oman have been transformed into an emergency logistics lifeline during the Iran war, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz

With talks between the U.S. and Iran deadlocked, the conflict has devolved into an economic war of… pic.twitter.com/bgnzBmGc6g

— Joshua Landis (@joshua_landis) May 13, 2026

Interestingly, US intelligence and the governments involved kept this under wraps for many weeks, and it suggests just how close the world was to witnessing a broader regional war that could have quickly spun out of control. Before the series of disclosures, it was widely assumed that only the United States military was 'defending' the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. But clearly some of these countries were hitting back against the Islamic Republic on their own.

Tyler Durden Thu, 05/14/2026 - 13:40
Tyler Durden

After "Fantastic Day" With Xi, Trump Touts 200-Jet Boeing Deal As China Offers Hormuz Help

Zero Rss
2 months 4 weeks ago
After "Fantastic Day" With Xi, Trump Touts 200-Jet Boeing Deal As China Offers Hormuz Help

Summary: 

  • Trump says Boeing Secured a 200 'Big' jet order from China

  • Trump says President Xi wants Hormuz reopened, won't give Tehran weapons 

  • Trump, Xi Put Hormuz, Iran, Trade, Taiwan At Center Of Historic Beijing Summit

Boeing-China Jet Deal

A highly anticipated Boeing jet deal appears to have materialized after the first day of President Trump's summit with President Xi Jinping. 

Fox News reports that Trump said Boeing secured an order for 200 "big" jets from China. He said the order was initially for 150, but the final figure will be 200

Trump Says China Will Help On Reopening Hormuz 

It is nearly midnight in Beijing, and President Trump is still speaking on the record with corporate media, offering additional insight on the first day of the summit and state banquet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In comments to Fox News, Trump said Xi offered to help pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, signaling that Beijing may be willing to use its leverage over Tehran.

*TRUMP SAYS CHINA'S XI OFFERED TO HELP ON IRAN: FOX NEWS

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 14, 2026

This comes as energy insiders and traders warn that continued closure of the Strait through the end of the month could spark a worsening energy shock.

Trump also said Xi would not provide weapons to Tehran.

*TRUMP: XI SAID HE WON'T GIVE MILITARY EQUIPMENT TO IRAN https://t.co/9s2HQn4rPs

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 14, 2026 Trump, Xi Put Hormuz, Iran, Trade, Taiwan At Center Of Historic Beijing Summit

President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are currently seated at the main table at a state banquet. President Xi called the visit historic, and said U.S.-China ties are "stable" amid talks with Trump's team.

President Xi offers a toast at the state banquet dinner in Beijing: "To the bright future of China-U.S. relations, and the friendship between the two peoples, and to the health of President Trump and all of the friends present." pic.twitter.com/VmJeU4Xk1f

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 14, 2026

According to a White House readout, Trump and Xi agreed that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open to free navigation and that Tehran should not charge a fee to ships using the critical waterway.

Key notes from the White House readout (courtesy of Bloomberg):

  • Trump Had A Good Meeting With Xi: White House Official

  • Leaders Discussed Increasing China's purchases of Agriculture

  • Trump, Xi Agreed Hormuz Must Remain Open: White House Official

  • U.S. Says Xi Made Clear China Opposes Militarization of Hormuz

  • Both Sides Agreed Iran Can Never Have A Nuclear Weapon: U.S.

  • U.S. Says Xi Expressed Interest in Purchasing More American Oil

From the Bilateral Meeting in Beijing:

President Trump had a good meeting with President Xi of China. pic.twitter.com/WaH8hR1ZV3

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 14, 2026

Both countries agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. pic.twitter.com/7hYMIBoTZY

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 14, 2026

Beijing also signaled interest in buying more U.S. oil to reduce China's reliance on crude and crude products transiting the Hormuz chokepoint. This signifies how the U.S.-Iran conflict is rewiring global energy flows.

Trump-Xi talks also covered fentanyl, securing market access for U.S. companies in the mainland market, and increasing Chinese investment in American industries and purchases of U.S. agricultural products.

"American enterprises are deeply involved in China's reform and opening up, a process from which both sides have benefited," Xi told the leaders of U.S. companies accompanying Trump on the trip. Those CEOs include Tesla's Elon Musk, Apple's Tim Cook, Boeing's Kelly Ortberg, and Nvidia's Jensen Huang.

The two sides discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation between countries, including expanding market access for American businesses into China and increasing Chinese investment.

Leaders from many of the United States’ largest companies joined a portion of the meeting. pic.twitter.com/i3Q1ogde2E

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 14, 2026

Xi continued, "China's door to the outside world will only open wider."

On the agricultural front, Bloomberg reported that China renewed import licenses for hundreds of U.S. beef plants, reviving trade that will help ranchers and farmers.

Xi was quoted as saying that China and the U.S. agree to build a "constructive and strategically stable relationship" that will serve as a framework for China-U.S. relations over the next three years and beyond.

On the subject of Taiwan, Xi told Trump bluntly that Sino-U.S. relations would enter an "extremely dangerous place" if Trump ignored Beijing's demands over Taiwan.

Back at the state banquet, Trump invited Xi to Washington on Sept. 24.

Overall, it appears that day one of Trump's summit with Xi was positive.

.@POTUS delivers remarks at the state banquet dinner at the Great Hall of the People: "It was a fantastic day, and in particular, I want to thank President Xi, my friend, for this magnificent welcome... and for so graciously hosting us on this very historic state visit." pic.twitter.com/lcFTC7wUY9

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 14, 2026

Earlier, Trump and Xi took a walk at an ancient temple in Beijing.

.@POTUS in China: "It's great — a great place. Incredible. China is beautiful." pic.twitter.com/Xiu7KSCvpL

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 14, 2026

"The China-U.S. Summit is ongoing, with expectations for any breakthroughs low," UBS analyst Justinus Steinhorst told clients earlier.

UBS analyst Shuo Yang noted, "It has been a subdued Asia session, with markets in wait-and-see mode into the Trump-Xi meeting."

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined CNBC and said the U.S. and China are seeking to lower tariffs on some trade, starting with $30 billion in non-critical areas. Bessent also noted that Chinese officials are "doing what they can" to reopen Hormuz. 

Bessent added that Boeing is nearing a "large" plane order from China, but did not specify whether those orders would be for narrow-body or wide-body jets.

Tyler Durden Thu, 05/14/2026 - 13:30
Tyler Durden

Did You See Hakeem Jeffries' Press Conference Tantrum?

Zero Rss
2 months 4 weeks ago
Did You See Hakeem Jeffries' Press Conference Tantrum?

Authored by Matt Margolis via PJMedia.com,

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is having a rough time right now. For months, the Speaker’s gavel looked to be easily within his reach come November, but recent developments have made it look like it could slip away. 

He’s a little touchy about it. During a press conference on Wednesday, Jeffries had a bit of a tantrum, not only invoking the Confederacy but snapping at a CNN reporter who dared to ask him a question.

Last month, the Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, striking down Louisiana’s congressional map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The ruling opened the door for several red states to redistrict and eliminate race-based districts.

To say Jeffries isn’t taking it well is an understatement.

"Because we know this unprecedented assault on black political representation, the likes of which we have not seen since the Jim Crow era, the ghost of the Confederacy has afflicted the United States Supreme Court majority and is invading and haunting the nation right now," Jeffries said.

"And we take that seriously. And we know it's going to continue, which is why Democrats are committed to launching a decisive and overwhelming response in advance of the 2028 election, to ensure that it's the American people who are the ones who get to decide who's in the majority in the House, who's in the majority in the Senate, and ultimately in 2028, who gets elected as the next president of the United States of America.”

But it was his exchange with CNN's Manu Raju that got genuinely uncomfortable. Raju pressed Jeffries on Democrats' failed attempt to gerrymander Virginia's congressional maps when the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled that the process Democrats used to eliminate four GOP-leaning districts violated the state constitution, invalidating that map as well. Groups aligned with Jeffries had spent over $40 million on the failed effort.

"Mr. Leader, I mean, you ultimately lost this. Do you take personally—" Raju began.

"Who lost?" Jeffries shot back, clearly angry.

"You lost in court—"

"Who lost?"

"Democrats did," Raju said.

"Do you take personal responsibility for investing so much time and resources, tens of millions of dollars, in an ultimately fruitless effort?"

"We did the right thing," Jeffries said, "and this effort is not over."

Hakeem Jeffries loses it when called out for his unconstitutional racist gerrymandering scheme.

JEFFRIES: Who lost?

RAJU: YOU LOST! In court.

JEFFRIES: Did the voters lose?

RAJU: The Democrats did. Do you take personal responsibility for an ultimately foolish effort? pic.twitter.com/2ryGiBVnjP

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 13, 2026

As you can see, Jeffries got a bit undignified there, trying to distance himself from the failed effort that the Democratic Party wasted tens of millions of dollars on. On top of that, multiple red states are now redrawing House districts in the wake of Callais. While some are moving aggressively, others are stalled by legal challenges and political calculations.

Sabato's Crystal Ball now gives Republicans a slight edge in Safe/Likely/Leans seats, and prediction markets now show the GOP favored to retain the Senate while closing the gap in the House race.

The overall trajectory is clear — and it's not favorable for Democrats.

The problem for Democrats, of course, isn’t just the short-term implications but the long-term structural problem they face. The 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election may be their last chance to win back power before the math and the map become too big a hurdle for them to overcome. Population shifts mean blue states will lose congressional seats after the 2030 census, costing them Electoral College votes as well.

In other words, Jeffries is in full panic mode, and he’s having a hard time hiding it.

Tyler Durden Thu, 05/14/2026 - 13:20
Tyler Durden

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