UK reports unexpected deficit of £1.8bn as John Healey prepares for first budget

July data shows total public debt was £2.98tn, or 94% of GDP – up £96bn on a year earlier

Back on track: can Burnham fix the north’s woeful rail services?

From a new high-speed line to better intercity links, the PM has a chance to tackle problems he criticised as Manchester mayor

Reform’s new economic adviser has called for end of pensioners’ triple lock

Exclusive: Mitchell Palmer has also argued for privatising the NHS and immigration as way of cutting poverty

Can Andy Burnham rewire the ‘Treasury brain’ to boost growth?

PM wants to reduce department’s stranglehold on public purse and bring long-term thinking to economic policy

All power to the UK competition watchdog’s war on ‘drip pricing’

Competition and Markets Authority on message with PM’s planned purge of hidden fees and add-on charges

British energy bills forecast to hit three-year high this winter

Expected quarterly price cap rise of 4% likely to wipe out benefits of Andy Burnham’s VAT cut on electricity bills

Rising inflation underlines scale of Andy Burnham’s cost of living challenge

PM’s plan to shield households from more pressure risks being overwhelmed by wider price rises

Top economists urge Burnham to sign UK up to UN initiative on global inequality

Open letter signed by 40 academics including Nobel winner Joseph Stiglitz and Kate Pickett, co-author of The Spirit Level

Ministers drop plan to relax affordable housing rules after negative response

Government concedes ‘significant opposition’ requires new approach on quotas for medium-sized development sites

UK government ‘irresponsible’ for not publishing emergency drought plans

Campaigners demand greater transparency into water companies’ plans not made public due to ‘security reasons’

JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon warns UK chancellor not to hike taxes on banks

Billionaire CEO of world’s biggest bank says any windfall tax on sector’s bumper profits could harm jobs in City

Thom Yorke, Romy and Brian Eno among 200 musicians urging PM to reject new North Sea drilling

Robert Smith, Olly Alexander and Paris Paloma also among signatories to letter saying exploitation of Rosebank and Jackdaw fields defies climate reality

Burnham urged to crack down on gig economy firms to protect 4m workers

Exclusive: Campaigners say millions are missing out on key rights including sick pay and protection against unfair dismissal

A positive new report raises the question: was Reeves undermined by dodgy data?

Assessment’s finding of a jump in UK productivity emphasises urgent need to appoint a national statistician

New UK cost of living crisis looms with soaring energy bills forecast to lift inflation

Latest reading on Wednesday likely to frame scale of challenge for new PM to ease pressures on households amid Iran war fallout