Haldane Urges Tax Simplification to Boost UK Growth

On June 26, newspaper coverage highlighted Labour adviser Andy Haldane's recommendations to simplify Britain's tax code and cut regulation under a potential Burnham government, offering a mildly positive policy angle for UK equities. This follows sharp losses on June 23, when the FTSE 100 fell 0.7% amid hawkish rate expectations and weak PMI data showing a second month of contraction. The Flash Composite PMI slipped to 49.4 while services activity hit a 41-month low of 48.7, reinforcing concerns of flat Q2 growth amid political uncertainty.