Lucy Rigby returns as City minister in Treasury reshuffle. Lucy Rigby returns as City minister, formally appointed on 21 July 2026 to the dual brief of economic secretary to the Treasury and City minister, following a short spell as chief secretary to the Treasury. The move is a demotion. Rigby had stepped up to chief secretary in May, filling the vacancy left by Wes Streeting's resignation. She now reverts to the role she held for the best part of nine months under Keir Starmer. Rigby's record as City minister. According to Reuters, Rigby will oversee policy and regulation affecting banks, insurers, asset managers and fintech firms, and will act as the government's main point of contact with the City of London. Her first stint in the role generated goodwill among institutional investors. She accompanied Starmer on his state visit to China and earned a reputation as a trusted interlocutor between government and the Square Mile. During that earlier tenure, Rigby fronted a new tax relief on stamp duty for shares in newly listed companies. That relief, which has effect for agreements made on or after 27 November 2025, provides an exemption from the 0.5% Stamp Duty Reserve Tax charge on securities transfers for companies whose shares are newly listed on a UK regulated market, applying for a three-year period from the listing date. It was designed to encourage new listings at a time when UK capital markets have struggled to attract flotations. Before joining the Treasury in her previous role, Rigby served as Solicitor General for England and Wales from 2 December 2024 to 6 September 2025. She was appointed King's Counsel on 3 February 2025. Burnham's wider Treasury reshuffle. The reshuffle, overseen by Andy Burnham, has reorganised the Treasury team substantially. Angela Eagle has been promoted to environment secretary. Emma Reynolds, herself a former City minister, moves to chief secretary to the Treasury. Rachel Blake, the MP for Cities of London and Westminster, has left the government. Number 10 has not confirmed whether Torsten Bell will remain as pensions minister or whether Dan Tomlinson continues as the minister overseeing tax. Lord Jason Stockwood, the former director of Match.com and chief executive of Simply Business, will no longer serve as investment minister, the government confirmed. John Healey was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer on 20 July 2026, taking over from Rachel Reeves. His most recent cabinet post before the chancellorship was Secretary of State for Defence, a role he held from 5 July 2024 to 11 June 2026. Burnham drew on Healey's earlier Treasury experience: according to BBC News, Healey served as a minister in the Treasury for five years between 2002 and 2007, firstly as economic secretary and then as financial secretary. Stuart Murray, who was tax minister before becoming chief secretary, is now financial secretary to the Treasury and paymaster general, with responsibility for regional growth, the British Business Bank and the National Wealth Fund. He takes over from Lord Spencer Livermore, a close ally of Reeves. The financial secretary's portfolio is also referred to as the growth minister brief. With Rigby back in post, the City's immediate focus shifts to whether she will press ahead with further capital markets reform and how the new team handles the legislative pipeline on financial services regulation.

BOSTON, July 29, 2026

Simply Business teams up with Elevate Specialty. The latest partnership news update for you; Simply Business, one of the UK's largest insurance providers for small businesses and landlords, today announced a new partnership with ElevateSpecialty, a technology-enabled Managing General Agent (MGA). As the latest addition to Simply Business's panel of insurers, Elevate Specialty expands the digital broker's insurance offering for its one million customers, giving them the opportunity to add cyber insurance to their existing cover. Elevate Specialty's cyber protection insurance is designed to help small businesses manage the financial, operational and reputational impact of cyber events. The product covers hacking, data breaches and fraud, and includes cyber crime, data breach expenses, cyber liability and expert helpline access for guidance, triage and recovery assistance. Julie Fisher, UK CEO at Simply Business, said "For small and micro businesses, cyber threats are a rapidly growing concern, and navigating those risks can be daunting. By partnering with Elevate Specialty, we are making it simpler for our customers to add cyber insurance directly to their existing policies so they can better protect their businesses from the impact of online attacks." Mickey Attia, CEO of Elevate Specialty Limited, said "We're excited to partner with Simply Business, who has built genuine trust with one million customers across more than 1,700 trades and professions. Bringing our cyber product to that community means we can put meaningful, accessible protection in the hands of small business owners, many of whom don't have dedicated IT teams or enterprise-level budgets."