Good morning. Andy Burnham is weighing up whether to appoint Ed Miliband as chancellor while Labour MPs worry about his plans for a ‘No. 10 of the north’. The NHS is reeling from the largest maternity scandal in its history. The weather, as you may have noticed, is quite warm. At least 32 have been killed in an earthquake in Venezuela, Scotland’s World Cup hopes are on the brink and life may have been found on Mars – a very, very long time ago. You’re reading Spectator Daily – here’s everything you need to know today. |
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WHO’LL BE BURNHAM’S CHANCELLOR?
I’ll let readers in on a secret. When writing this e-mail, I keep a close eye on what’s leading the front pages, especially the Times and Telegraph. But this morning you can call me Jan Morris because I’ve got something of a conundrum. The Times suggests that Ed Miliband is ‘playing an integral role in developing economic policies for Andy Burnham’. But the Telegraph argues that Burnham is cooling on ‘Red Ed’ since he fears ‘a Blair-Brown-style split’ if he makes the now-Energy Secretary chancellor.
Of course, both stories might be correct. Miliband might be coming up with economic policies out of the goodness of his heart; Burnham may be listening to them but conscious that Miliband might not be the best choice for the Treasury. But the reporting split is still striking. The former Labour leader is tipped as the (potential) future leader’s first choice for the job despite – or perhaps because of – his support for expensive net zero policies and more borrowing.
If not Miliband as chancellor, then who? As Tim Shipman writes in this week’s magazine cover piece, Wes Streeting, Shabana Mahmood, Yvette Cooper and Pat McFadden have all been tipped as alternatives. But, he is told, Burnham’s chancellor must have ‘the confidence of the markets, the confidence of the [Parliamentary Labour party] and the confidence of Andy’. Very few tick all three boxes. You can read Tim’s full piece on Burnham’s plans for power – and why he’s being described as ‘Labour’s first female prime minister’ – here. |
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 | Getty | Tony Blair and Gordon Brown before Downing Street affected their hair colour. |
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Picking a chancellor isn’t Burnham’s only big decision to make. The Financial Times leads on reports that the self-styled ‘King of the North’ could move parts of the No. 10 operation to Manchester. In a speech on Monday, he is expected to set out a radical package of policies to shift powers from London, which could include setting up a ‘No. 10 in the north’. However, officials are already sceptical to say the least. One tells the paper: ‘I think he will find this hard as No. 10 is institutionally defensive about its place at the heart of Westminster. But good luck to him.’
On the devolution front, Burnham is also considering devolving income tax across Britain to give local authorities greater power. Lord O’Neill – in the running to become Burnham’s chief economic adviser – told LBC that ‘constitutional devolution’ was a key priority for the PM-in-waiting. As such, he could explore shifting ‘aspects of income tax’ away from Westminster – posing the question of how revenues would be distributed across the country. In defence of those daan saaf, we do account for almost half the UK’s income tax take even if we didn’t give the world Oasis. Definitely, maybe.
However, Burnham’s plans have not proven universally popular among Labour MPs. The Times reports that some fear his focus on the north could cost the party seats across rural, coastal and commuter belt seats where it’s already being squeezed by Reform UK and the Greens. One source tells the paper that he had talked up a ‘north-south divide’ during his Makerfield campaign ‘without any acknowledgement or care over how that would land elsewhere’.
And there’s more in this week’s magazine: Noa Hoffman reports on how Reform and the Tories are planning to fight Burnham, Michael Simmons looks at what could be in his first Budget and our leading article wonders if he can avoid Keir Starmer’s fate. |
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 | ‘There’s a new left-wing government forecast.’ |
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NOTTINGHAM’S MATERNITY CRISIS
Many of today’s front pages move away from the recent political psychodrama to bring a chilling reminder of human realities. An excoriating report yesterday found that more than 500 mothers and babies had died or suffered needless harm at one hospital trust in the biggest maternity scandal in NHS history. In total, 444 women and 76 newborn babies suffered ‘potentially avoidable’ outcomes at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust between 2012 and 2025, the review by senior midwife Donna Ockenden found.
James Murray, the Health Secretary, said he was ‘heartbroken’ to read the 401-page account of ‘neglect, incompetence, racism, discrimination, contempt and harassment’. He added that families had suffered ‘dangerously and tragically deficient care at almost every turn’ and ‘the NHS failed them catastrophically’.
The findings of the harrowing report make the front page of the Mail and the Times this morning. However, the Mirror perhaps best sums up the collective response: ‘Never Again.’ On Coffee House, Druin Burch outlines the solutions to Britain’s maternity crisis and says they cannot be fixed simply by a new regulator. |
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 | BBC | Donna Ockenden presents her findings yesterday. |
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Elsewhere in Britain: let’s not dwell on this too much but yesterday was hot. Really, really hot. Officially the hottest June day on record hot after temperatures soared to 36.1C in Gosport, Hampshire. And it’s going to get even hotter today! An extreme heat warning remains in place until midnight tonight with highs of around 38C forecast. Time to work from swimming pool, perhaps?
Meanwhile, investigators have revealed the train involved in the Bedford rail crash last week had passed a danger signal without stopping. The driver was killed and more than 100 people injured after the Luton airport express collided with another train that had stopped because of a fault in its warning system. The Rail Accident Investigation Branch said it was unclear whether the train’s automatic warning system had alerted the driver that he had passed a red signal.
A bizarre case, this: a man has been arrested after a 26-year-old was killed at a Bronze Age stone circle during a summer solstice celebration. The body of Isaac Clare-Watts was discovered in the Nine Ladies Stone Circle on Stanton Moor in Derbyshire on Monday afternoon. Derbyshire Constabulary said his life had ‘been taken in the most brutal way’. A 41-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody. |
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| Coming up today |  | Over at the QEII Centre, it’s the British Chambers of Commerce Global Annual Conference. Speakers include Rachel Reeves (up at 9 a.m.), Mel Stride and – gulp – Zack Polanski. | | The Chancellor might mention that today is the launch of her Great British Summer Savings scheme. Until September, VAT on children’s meals, theatre and cinema tickets and family tickets is cut from 20 per cent to 5 per cent. Thanks, Rach! | | Already bored of the World Cup? Never fear, fixtures for the 2026/27 Sky Bet EFL season will be announced at midday. |
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EARTHQUAKE ROCKS VENEZUELA
Venezuela has been struck by one of the strongest earthquakes in the country’s history. At least 32 people have been killed and 700 injured after a 7.2-magnitude quake crumbled buildings in the capital Caracas. The second tremor, which hit just a minute later, was even more powerful with a magnitude of 7.5. The country has declared a state of emergency with reports of power outages and hits to mobile phone services. Interim president Delcy Rodriguez said it was a ‘true tragedy’ and that rescue efforts were ongoing. |
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 | Getty | Rescuers search for survivors in the debris of a building in Caracas. |
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In the US, Iran’s not the only problem facing Donald Trump (as Paul Wood discusses in this week’s issue). The President and the Department of the Interior are under pressure to release evidence for their claims that the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool has been sabotaged. The $14.7 million (£11.2 million) renovation has become a joke due to algal blooms, peeling paint and dead ducks, which Trump has blamed on vandals acting ‘purposefully and criminally’. However, according to the New York Times, leaked government documents give no suggestion that the problems arose intentionally.
Grab your violins! Elon Musk is no longer a trillionaire after a global fall in tech shares knocked $500 billion (£379 billion) off his fortune. He became the world’s first trillionaire after the epoch-making listing of his rocket company SpaceX earlier this month. However, shares in the company have since fallen around 30 per cent from their peak. Meanwhile, Tesla, his electric car company, suffered because of a wide-ranging sell-off of technology stocks earlier this week. His worth now stands at a paltry $957.1 billion (£726.2 billion). |
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| Watch and listen | | Michael Gove and Madeline Grant debate whether Andy Burnham can save Labour in the latest episode of Quite Right!... | | …while Isabel Hardman and Noa Hoffman dissect Kemi Badenoch’s victory lap in the latest Coffee House Shots. | | If that all sounds a little too serious, Mel Brooks’s classic comedy The Producers is on BBC 4 at 10 p.m. |
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YOUR WORLD CUP KICKABOUT
Oh, Scotland! Where’s William Wallace when you need a stirring speech? Their World Cup campaign may be cut short after they lost 3-0 to Brazil overnight. While they’ll have to wait until Sunday to know for sure, the team already seems to have already given up hope. Midfielder John McGinn told BBC Sport he was ‘gutted’ and thought it was ‘unlikely’ they’d qualify for the knock-out stages. Still, if any fans want to drown their sorrows in more footballing glory, there’s plenty more action tonight. Sam McPhail talks you through the three games to keep an eye on below. |
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 | Getty | How about another bank holiday to ease the pain? |
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Ecuador (vs Germany, 9 p.m., BBC) will be worried they have managed only one point from their first two games. Chelsea midfielder Moisés Caicedo remains their best player but has had next to no impact so far. Germany have already done enough to qualify for the next round, yet manager Julian Nagelsmann still seems unsure whether to start Kai Havertz or Deniz Undav. Centre-back Jonathan Tah could struggle against counter-attacks.
Tunisia (vs Netherlands, 9 p.m., BBC) have not looked like serious contenders so far. Given they qualify for most World Cups regardless, they may use this game to blood younger prospects such as 18-year-old Rayan Elloumi, since they have little left to play for. The Netherlands need a win to guarantee top spot in the group. Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey has looked lively since starting the second game.
Turkey (vs USA, 3 a.m., ITV), the perennial dark horses, were left disappointed by an early exit. Their reputation rests on a strong European Championship campaign rather than World Cup pedigree, their last qualification having come back in 2002. The USA, already through after two wins, are unlikely to drop points even if they rest key players such as Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun. Home advantage has been key for them. |
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Paging David Bowie! On Mars, Nasa’s Perseverance rover has found carbon molecules in rocks that may indicate ancient microbial life. Moving along the Neretva Vallis – which was once a river several billion years ago – the rover’s Sherloc instrument found ‘macromolecular carbon’, which is known to originate from living organisms. However, the same form of carbon can also be produced by geological processes, so it’s not definitive proof of (long dead) life.
Good news for Harry Kane! The Ghanaian witch doctor who cursed the England skipper before our clash with Ghana has now said he will ‘release’ him ahead of his next game. After Kwaku Bonsam mystically – and correctly – claimed that Kane would fail to score against Ghana, he has decided his work is done. Bonsam claims to be ‘the most powerful spiritualist in the world’. He said Kane and he ‘are friends’ but that he ‘had to do what [he] had to do’. He thanks his ‘Kofi Kofi powers’, which I don’t think means his morning americano. |
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