Andy Burnham, the front-runner to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister, has spent years making a single argument with unusual consistency: that Britain taxes work too heavily and wealth too lightly.

After his Makerfield by-election victory and Starmer’s resignation, that argument has stopped being a talking point on the fringes of his party and become a question the City, the boardroom and the family business are all now being forced to answer.

The shift carries “considerable consequences for households, businesses, investors and the economy,” warns Nigel Green, chief executive of deVere Group, one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations. His intervention lands as investors increasingly weigh what a Burnham government could mean for taxation, investment, property, wealth creation and Britain’s competitiveness, at a moment when global capital has more choice than at any point in living memory.

Burnham has long held that the country leans too hard on taxing earnings, while accumulated wealth, assets and property should shoulder a greater share. As he moves closer to Downing Street, those instincts are migrating from the political margins to the centre of the economic debate. The unease is already measurable: Business Matters has reported that eight in ten SME owners fear what an Andy Burnham premiership would mean for their business.

“Andy Burnham’s seemingly unstoppable ascent to the top of British politics marks one of the most significant moments for investors in years,” Green says. “For the first time in a generation, Britain could soon have a prime minister whose political instinct is to look at wealth and ask whether it should be paying more. This matters because the answer doesn’t just affect the wealthy. It affects investment, jobs, business formation and economic growth.”

Burnham has not proposed a wealth tax, an exit tax or any specific package aimed at private wealth. Yet investors are already training their attention on the areas most exposed if a future government tried to tilt the burden away from earnings and towards assets.

“Capital gains tax, inheritance tax, property taxation, investment income and larger estates are all featuring more prominently in discussions taking place across financial markets,” Green notes. “The prospect of a government placing greater emphasis on the taxation of wealth is already triggering discussions among investors, entrepreneurs and business owners about the future direction of policy.”

The questions extend to council tax, stamp duty and land taxation. Burnham has previously backed property tax reform and has been linked to calls to replace the current council tax system with approaches tied more closely to underlying land values. Whether those ideas survive contact with the Treasury is another matter, and as Business Matters has explored, the case for whether Burnham can win over Britain’s entrepreneurs is far from settled.

He inherits a difficult backdrop: weak growth, stretched public finances and mounting spending pressure. Public sector debt sits close to the size of the entire economy, while the bills for healthcare, pensions, infrastructure and defence keep climbing. Against that, any government faces hard choices about where to find revenue without choking off growth, a tension already visible in reports that the Treasury is weighing inheritance and capital gains tax reforms to plug a budget gap.

“Governments are right to pursue fairness,” Green says. “But fairness and competitiveness must coexist. The danger is that Britain drifts into a mindset where wealth creation becomes viewed with suspicion rather than encouragement.”

Britain remains one of the world’s leading destinations for investment, underpinned by deep capital markets, strong institutions, legal certainty and London’s standing as a global financial centre. But the competition has sharpened. Financial centres across Europe, the Middle East and Asia are actively courting entrepreneurs, investors and internationally mobile families.

“Investors around the world are watching Britain and asking a simple question: is this a country becoming more attractive to capital or less,” Green says. “The answer will determine where money flows next.”

The implications reach well beyond headline rates. Family business succession, property ownership structures, pension arrangements, investment portfolios and estate planning could all face greater scrutiny if future governments decide wealth should contribute a larger share of receipts.

“Britain already taxes capital gains. It already taxes inheritance. It already taxes property. It already taxes investment income,” Green observes. “The question is now whether a Burnham government would push further. And that’s precisely why investors are paying such close attention.”

The numbers explain the stakes. According to the Office for National Statistics, privately owned wealth in Great Britain stands at roughly £13.6 trillion, more than six times annual national income, with property, pensions and financial assets making up the overwhelming majority. That wealth is also highly concentrated: House of Commons Library analysis shows the wealthiest tenth of households hold around 41 per cent of the total, a concentration that fuels the argument that assets should do more of the fiscal heavy lifting.

For households, the consequences would stretch far past the ultra-wealthy. Changes to inheritance tax reshape family succession. Reforms to property taxation touch homeowners and landlords. Adjustments to capital gains alter the economics of investing and entrepreneurship. Pension tax relief and investment income could also be drawn in if policymakers hunt for revenue while shielding taxes on work.

“There’s a growing belief inside parts of politics that wealth represents an easy answer to difficult fiscal questions,” Green says. “History teaches us it’s rarely that simple. The more aggressively governments pursue existing wealth, the greater the risk they discourage future wealth creation.”

His core worry is the direction of travel. “Businesses invest for years ahead. Investors allocate capital for decades ahead. If they conclude Britain is becoming less welcoming to enterprise, they’ll adjust accordingly. A generation ago, wealth was relatively captive. Today it is very much mobile. It compares jurisdictions, tax systems and governments. And it moves.”

As momentum builds behind Burnham, Green frames the moment as a defining economic test. “Andy Burnham believes wealth should carry more of the burden. It’s a belief that has taken him a long way in politics. Now investors are asking what happens if it starts shaping government.”

“There’s a world of difference between saying wealth should pay more and designing policies that achieve it without damaging investment, entrepreneurship and growth,” he concludes. “That is the challenge waiting on the desk of any future prime minister Burnham. He is forcing a national conversation about who should pay more, work or wealth. Investors are asking whether Britain will end up paying the price.”

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Miliband is the bookmakers’ second favourite pick, with the former Labour party leader politically closer to Burnham than Streeting.

Paul Johnson, former director of think-tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies, sees this as a positive.

“You really don’t want people in Number 10 and Number 11 having very different views,” he says.

However, opinions differ on whether former Treasury adviser Miliband could rally the markets.

Nick Macpherson, the former permanent secretary at the Treasury, told the Financial Times: “The key to gaining the confidence of the markets is to articulate, implement and deliver a coherent strategy.

“Miliband is one of the few cabinet members with the intellect, experience, and authority to do that.”

Yet, others see Miliband as an inflation risk, believing his drive for net zero as energy secretary as partly responsible for the UK’s high energy prices compared to other countries.

Analysts say that reputation, whether accurate or not, could affect how bond markets react to his time as chancellor.

Meanwhile, the Unite union’s general secretary Sharon Graham says Miliband as chancellor would be a “noose around the neck” of job creation, external because of his opposition to new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.

Capital markets regulator Sebi on Monday proposed an overhaul of the regulatory framework governing stock exchanges and clearing corporations, as part of its broader ease of doing business initiative. In a consultation paper, the regulator said it aims to simplify the Master Circular for Stock Exchanges & Clearing Corporations by removing obsolete provisions, reducing compliance requirements and consolidating multiple circulars into a simpler framework. Public comments on the proposals have been invited until July 13, 2026.

The latest consultation is the fourth in a series of reviews undertaken by Sebi to simplify regulations for market infrastructure institutions (MIIs). The regulator had earlier sought feedback on proposals related to administration, trading and exchange-traded derivatives.

Among the key proposals, Sebi plans to issue a single master circular for stock exchanges by consolidating provisions relating to stock exchanges and commodity derivatives exchanges. It also intends to issue separate master circulars for clearing corporations and another consolidated circular covering common information technology requirements applicable to market infrastructure institutions.

The regulator has also proposed reducing the number of periodic reports submitted to Sebi by discontinuing reports that have become redundant or shifting them to oversight by MII committees.

Other proposed changes include discontinuing the requirement for registration of investment managers providing Direct Market Access (DMA) services, introducing a single-window registration framework for brokers offering Smart Order Routing (SOR), reviewing the existing system and network audit framework for market infrastructure institutions and discontinuing the close-to-money (CTM) norms for option contracts.

Sebi has also suggested reviewing disclosure requirements for investors in commodity derivatives, revisiting norms governing position limits across products, updating the client code modification framework and merging investor protection funds for equity and commodity segments.
According to the regulator, the review is intended to create a more efficient and principles-based regulatory framework while reducing duplication and improving operational flexibility for exchanges and clearing corporations.The final framework will be notified after considering comments received from market participants and other stakeholders.

Festival boss says ‘The city reflects the expanding ambition of the UK television industry’

Britain’s biggest television festival is moving from Edinburgh to Manchester next year with bosses praising the city’s ‘genuine creative ambition and future-facing energy’.

The event regularly attracts the biggest names in media, including David Attenborough and Steve Coogan. Its annual MacTaggart Lecture has been given by industry leaders including Rupert Murdoch, Jeremy Paxman, Emily Maitlis and Louis Theroux.

Directors at the Edinburgh TV Festival announced last year that they were considering moving out of the Scottish capital amid fears that city was too expensive in August with the TV event running alongside the Edinburgh Festival and the Fringe. The shortlisted cities were Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh.

Now they have confirmed that Manchester’s bid to hold the festival in the new St John’s creative and cultural district.has been successful. They praised the city region’s “commitments around affordability, infrastructure, industry partnership and long-term growth potential”.

Campbell Glennie, CEO of the TV Festival and The TV Foundation that organises it, said: “Greater Manchester presented a vision for the Festival that combined genuine creative ambition and future-facing energy with practical accessibility and affordability for delegates. This means we can radically reduce the costs associated with attending the Festival as well as the cost of passes.

“The city reflects the expanding ambition of the UK television industry, while still offering the scale, connectivity and unique cultural identity needed for an event of this significance; it gives us the strongest platform to grow the Festival’s reach and impact in the years ahead.”

Councillor Bev Craig, leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Being chosen to host the TV Festival is brilliant news for Greater Manchester and speaks to the growth, success and strength of our screen sector in the city region and the strong partnerships and talent we have here.

“With the fastest growing economy in the UK, creative industries are a key priority growth area for us. As part of this we aim to make our region home to the strongest screen industry cluster outside London by 2028 – an ambition backed by our just-launched £10.5 million Screen Production Fund to support film and TV made in Greater Manchester, using local facilities and expertise.

“As new home now also to the prestigious TV Festival, we’ll be working closely with partners to ensure we deliver not just an exceptional annual Festival – with our own uniquely Manchester twist – but an event that supports new collaborations and partnerships locally, nationally, and internationally, that have the growth, sustainability, and diversity of the screen industry at their heart.”

Festival directors praised Edinburgh for hosting the event for five decades. They also thanked Newcastle for an “ambitious, imaginative and deeply compelling” bid.

Fatima Salaria, chair of the Festival board said: “We launched this review because the questions facing the Festival around affordability, accessibility, sustainability and the changing shape of the industry needed careful and honest consideration.

“This was never a decision about wanting to leave Edinburgh, or about diminishing the extraordinary role Scotland has played in shaping the identity of this Festival for 50 years. Edinburgh gives the Festival a powerful origin story, and we respect that deeply.

“But this decision had to balance legacy with future opportunity. The Festival now needs the right conditions, support and momentum for its next chapter; where it could have the strongest chance to grow and serve the widest part of the industry. For the Board, that place was Greater Manchester.”

The final Edinburgh version of the festival will take place this August, with dates for the 2027 Manchester event to be shared later this year.

Ms Salaria added: “We know this news will carry real emotion for many people because Edinburgh and the Festival have been intertwined over generations. We will honour that history with care, including at this year’s Festival.

“This is a chance to build a new chapter with confidence. Greater Manchester brings heritage, infrastructure, ambition and a serious growth proposition. It gives us the chance to widen who the Festival speaks to, who feels invited in, and how visible the Festival is to the working television community across the UK and beyond.”

Mr Glennie added: “Newcastle brought enormous passion, clarity and imagination to this process. The conversations we had there reflected a city with a powerful sense of identity and a real belief in the future of the screen industries. We are hugely grateful for the seriousness and warmth with which they engaged and are hopeful this is the start of similar, more meaningful relationships across the UK.”

Bruce Cleaver

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Bruce Cleaver, and I am the Chair of Gemfields Group Limited. This is the Annual General Meeting of Gemfields Group Limited. To avoid repetition, I shall abbreviate Gemfields Group Limited to Gemfields.

A quorum for this meeting is 3 members entitled to vote whether they are present in person, by corporate representative or by proxy. As there is a quorum present, and it is now 10:00 a.m. BST, I declare this meeting formally open.

If you wish to ask questions electronically on the website, do please submit them now. This meeting is to consider 7 ordinary resolutions, 2 special resolutions and 2 nonbinding advisory votes. All of these resolutions have the full support of the Board of Directors of Gemfields and have been set out in full in the notice of AGM. The notice of AGM was distributed to Gemfields shareholders on 29 April 2026 and sets out the resolutions now to be proposed.

In the absence of any objections, I shall take the notice of this meeting as read. In accordance with Gemfields articles of incorporation, voting will be by way of a poll and every shareholder present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote shall be entitled to one vote for every share held. Gemfields registrar Computershare have been appointed official scrutineers of the poll.

Only shareholders present in person, by corporate representative or by proxy are entitled to vote. Shareholders present in person who have already lodged proxy forms prior to the meeting should not complete a poll card unless they have an

Shares of Yash Highvoltage rallied as much as 12.4% to their day’s high of Rs 940 on the BSE on Tuesday after ace investor Madhusudan Kela’s firm Anantroop Financial Advisory Services purchased nearly 14,000 shares in the company for Rs 1 crore.

The company, a leading manufacturer of transformer bushings for the power generation, transmission and distribution sector, approved a preferential issue worth up to approximately Rs 151 crore, subject to shareholder and other statutory and regulatory approvals.

The company’s board has cleared the issuance of up to 12.62 lakh equity shares and 8.32 lakh convertible warrants at an issue price of Rs 721 per security. Each warrant will be convertible into one equity share, with the total fundraise aggregating up to around Rs 151 crore.

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The preferential allotment comes amid a strong rally in the stock, with shares gaining 103% over the past six months and rising about 110% so far this year.

Among institutional investors, Value Quest India GIFT Fund acquired 4.02 lakh shares of the company for around Rs 29 crore. Market veteran Prashant Khemka’s WhiteOak Capital India Opportunities Fund purchased 3.25 lakh shares worth Rs 23.50 crore, while Motilal Oswal invested approximately Rs 15 crore, acquiring more than 2 lakh shares.
The proceeds from the proposed issue will be used to fund Yash Highvoltage’s next phase of growth, including the expansion of manufacturing and testing infrastructure, enhancement of existing facilities and strengthening of its position in the power equipment sector.A major portion of the investment will be directed towards expanding the company’s Resin-Impregnated Paper (RIP) bushing manufacturing facility from the initially planned 245 kV range to 550 kV. The move is expected to place Yash among a select group of manufacturers capable of serving the extra-high-voltage transmission segment, significantly widening its addressable market.

The company plans to set up advanced assembly and testing infrastructure, including high-voltage testing facilities and specialised equipment needed for the development, validation and qualification of 550 kV RIP bushings. It also intends to invest in engineering, product development and certification capabilities to meet global standards and cater to opportunities in both domestic and overseas markets.

Additionally, Yash plans a brownfield expansion of its existing Oil-Impregnated Paper (OIP) bushing manufacturing facility to meet rising demand from transformer makers, utilities and power infrastructure developers. The proposed investments are expected to increase manufacturing capacity, expand the product portfolio and further strengthen the company’s technological capabilities.

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“The proposed fund raise marks an important milestone in Yash Highvoltage’s growth journey. We are grateful for the confidence shown by investors, whose support reinforces our conviction in the long-term opportunities emerging within the power generation and transmission sector.” Keyur Shah, Managing Director of Yash Highvoltage, said.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

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