Burnham gets pragmatic on North Sea oil

Plus: social care needs profit, and where are Britain's millionaires going?

Jul 30, 2026

A glimmer of common sense from No 10 today, as Andy Burnham said he had told Donald Trump he would take a ‘pragmatic approach’ to more drilling in the North Sea.

Simon French@Frencheconomics

Pragmatic is a big improvement on a status quo where the UK imports more carbon intensive LNG in preference to its domestic supply. 👏

Alex Wickham @alexwickham

NEW: Andy Burnham says he told Donald Trump the UK cannot “ignore” the oil in the North Sea when “people are struggling,” and that he’ll take a “pragmatic approach” as PM That appears to confirm Burnham is looking at more drilling in the North Sea, as Trump said last night (and

3:22 PM · Jul 30, 2026 · 1.46K Views

1 Repost · 14 Likes

That’s where the good news stops though, as Burnham’s big defence announcement turned out to be a commitment to our nuclear deterrent already promised by Keir Starmer. Burnham’s contribution was an emphasis on ‘British money, spent on British workers, British firms and British skills’. Which sounds nice but has some serious – and costly – implications.

Meanwhile, Spanish banking giant Santander told its UK staff at TSB to come into the office at least three days a week – only to be met with a tribunal claim by a union. Embarrassing, when the inventors of the siesta are the ones telling us to turn up to work.

Below you’ll find all the latest pieces from CapX, plus what we’re reading from around the web.

Marc Sidwell
Editor, CapX

Today’s Takes

Fresh thinking from CapX

*Kirsty Wigglesworth - WPA Pool/Getty Images*

Burnham’s care plan can’t work without profit

Tim Worstall

‘A system of social insurance against a calamitous old age does make sense. But government running the service is contraindicated.’

Andy Burnham wants to fix social care, but a National Care Service modelled on the NHS is the wrong way to do it. Reaching old age is near certain, and should be saved for; a descent into dementia is a risk, and should be insured against. Better that the state mandates and underwrites, while private suppliers compete to deliver. Read More

Why is Britain losing its millionaires?

James Price

‘Instead of a boom, we have fewer millionaires, with all that comes with that – less tax revenue, less investment and less entrepreneurship.’

Millionaires pay a huge amount of tax, more than any other group in the UK. So why does the government continue to levy punitive taxes on one of the most mobile groups in the world? With Dubai’s attractive tax regime, the ultra-rich are going there in droves. A world where Britain keeps and attracts millionaires is better for everyone. Read More

Stat of the day

Best of the Web

Burnham's DIY economics will end in a mess

Ryan Bourne, The Times 🔒

‘DIY economics substitutes intuition for analysis … policies get judged by their visible first effect, with little thought given to the broader consequences.’

Governing the country requires more than a competent media strategy. You also need sound economics. So far, Andy Burnham and his cabinet seem to be adopting a dangerously DIY approach. Trying to pick winners and ignore all trade-offs involved won’t end well. Read More

Taxing the banks repeats the North Sea mistake

Matthew Lynn, The Spectator

‘In a free market economy, companies and shareholders own the losses, and they own the profits as well.’

In Burnham’s Britain, success tends to come with a bill attached. Lloyds and Barclays posted bumper half-year profits this week – the sort of result a growing country would want more of. If the instinct is a windfall tax, the country will foot the bill in the long run. Read More