Drill, Andy, drill?

Plus: Who will be the next Chancellor? And why we need lower energy bills to compete on AI

Jun 25, 2026

In this interregnum we find ourselves in, collective responsibility in the Government doesn’t really apply. Rachel Reeves, still the Chancellor of the Exchequer, spoke at the annual British Chambers of Commerce conference in London today. She stressed her support to for making greater use of North Sea reserves, saying: “I’ve been very clear that I think that the North Sea is a crucial asset for the UK and that oil and gas will be an important part of our energy mix for years to come. And I’m very keen to make sure that we use that resource to ensure our energy security.’

If, as expected, Andy Burnham becomes our Prime Minister, how will he get on with President Trump? The President says of Burnham that ‘he's extremely liberal, extremely, so that means he probably won't open up the North Sea.’ As we know, by ‘liberal’ the Americans mean illiberal in the classical sense - a preference for state control. In the past, Burnham has insisted he would refuse to meet Trump as a ‘matter of principle’. Doubtless, he will take a more flexible approach in Downing Street. Otherwise, international summitry might be a bit awkward.

Angela Rayner has welcomed the ‘biggest wave of social and council housing for a generation’:

Angela Rayner@AngelaRayner

I made it my mission to build the biggest wave of social and council housing for a generation. The landmark £39 billion investment and the creation of the National Housing Bank have laid the foundations for a generational boost. Today’s stats show the highest number of social

9:41 AM · Jun 25, 2026 · 93.9K Views

1.04K Replies · 110 Reposts · 480 Likes

But a ‘community note’ to her tweet adds that: ‘Social rent starts numbered 4,280 in 2025-26, a 24% decrease from the previous year, not the highest since 2010 when there were 26,440.’

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

CapX

Today’s Takes

Fresh thinking from CapX

Who will be the next Chancellor?

Damian Pudner

‘Government borrowing does not become wise or productive because it is called investment’

Ed Miliband would be a very clear lurch to the left, towards public ownership, green industrial activism and a more combative Treasury. Andy Burnham may give Labour a better voice than Keir Starmer, but markets will not price credibility by accent, attitude or impatience with Treasury orthodoxy. They will price the numbers. Municipal socialism for the gilt-market age will survive only if it means reform, discipline and delivery. Read More

To compete with the US on AI, the British need to cut energy bills

Dalibor Rohac

‘The United States accounts for around 44% of global data-centre capacity; the EU holds barely a fifth of that.’

American and Chinese industry pay around 8 US cents per kilowatt-hour. French industry pays roughly 12; German industry close to 18; and British somewhere between the two. You cannot run the most energy-hungry industry of the century at twice your competitors’ power costs and expect to win. A Europe (and a Britain) that continues to retreat into digital autarky and regulatory pique will be a poorer, more dependent version of what it already is. It is not too late to avoid that outcome – but the window to do something about it is closing fast. Read More

Labour’s misguided egalitarianism is about to get worse

Jamie Whyte

‘If a farmer manages to increase egg production, he is not taking wealth from others’

Andy Burnham thinks of incomes or wealth as a zero-sum game. That is to say, he thinks that the total quantity of wealth or the aggregate income in a society is fixed, like a cake that gets divided up between the citizens. But this is a calamitous misunderstanding of how economies actually work. Read More

Stat of the day

The CapX Reading List

The best of the web today

Changing direction on Net Zero has given us a win – now it’s more change or bust

Alex Morton, Conservative Home

‘The renewal we are seeing in energy policy and other policy areas needs to both deepen and spread if the Conservatives are to truly going to change to win’

The Conservative victory in the Aberdeen South by-election was only possible due to the shift in policy that Kemi Badenoch began in March 2025, when she declared that Net Zero 2050 was unrealistic and had to be ditched. Had she continued with the failing 2010-2024 consensus on energy policy, one she had opposed from the outset, victory in Aberdeen South would have been impossible. Read More

Starmer has a parting gift: a sinister plot to ‘re-educate’ the British public

Allister Heath, Daily Telegraph

‘Any plot by Labour to make publishers subservient to state-backed regulation must be resisted. Newspapers must not be controlled by the state, any state. There must be no government-supported kitemarks. There must be no incentive schemes, no cajoling, no bullying. Newspapers must be truly independent, free to report and comment.’

The Government wishes to nudge people into watching the BBC, Channel 4 and other “public service broadcasters”, presumably to be told which “facts” are valid and which conclusions to draw. The move, Keir Starmer's parting gift to us all, would force social media and video-sharing firms to prioritise these broadcasters’ content above everybody else’s. Bad news for newspapers, insurgent broadcasters and anyone with a podcast mic.' Read More