United Kingdom in July 2026: the most important developments in economy
In the United Kingdom in July 2026, the war in Iran shaped both politics and the economy. On July 13 the UK proscribed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, banning the group and making membership and support a crime. The services sector contracted sharply in early July and on July 12 recorded its sharpest contraction since 2023. UK mortgage rates rose again after Middle East hostilities resumed. Shell reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $9.8 billion, more than double the year before, on higher oil and gas prices, while BP announced 700 job cuts.
The second big story was British Steel. On July 16 the Labour government took the Chinese-owned steelmaker into public ownership to protect supply. On July 17 China voiced strong opposition and promised 'strong measures' to protect firms' lawful interests, and on July 19 the owner, Jingye Steel, called on the UK to compensate its investment losses.
Foreign takeovers of British companies continued. EasyJet accepted a takeover offer from Castlelake worth over $7 billion, ABB agreed to buy Rotork for $5.6 billion, Lockheed Martin agreed to buy Ultra Maritime for $3.45 billion, and Novartis moved to acquire Myricx Bio for up to $1.5 billion. Bids for British companies outstripped new London listings by 27 to 1. The India-UK trade agreement took effect on July 15, cutting tariffs.
A change of government followed. By July 21 Andy Burnham was Prime Minister, and his first major move was to remove the 5 percent VAT on electricity bills. On July 23 he announced a fifth off business rates for pubs, on July 27 he ruled out stamp duty changes at the next budget and unveiled a £1 billion pension fund for reindustrialising Britain, and he backed new North Sea oil and gas drilling. Inflation slowed to 2.6 percent in June, a 15-month low, and unemployment stood at 4.9 percent in March to May.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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