UK 30-Year Gilt Yields Hit 5.845% as Burnham Secures Path to Challenge Starmer
Updated
Updated · Reuters · May 15
UK 30-Year Gilt Yields Hit 5.845% as Burnham Secures Path to Challenge Starmer
15 articles · Updated · Reuters · May 15
30-year UK gilt yields jumped almost 19 basis points to about 5.845% on Friday—the highest since 1998—while sterling slid to $1.33285 and bank stocks fell as Labour's leadership crisis deepened.
Andy Burnham won a possible route back to parliament, a prerequisite for any leadership bid against Keir Starmer, unsettling investors who fear a softer-left Labour leadership would mean more state intervention, worker protections and higher taxes.
That challenge is not imminent: Burnham still needs Labour selection for a vacant seat and then must beat Reform UK and the Greens, a process that could take weeks or months and leave the government politically paralysed.
Starmer said he would fight to stay, loyalists noted no rival has the 81 nominations needed to trigger a formal contest, and Wes Streeting is expected to wait to see whether Burnham can reach Westminster.
The market selloff also reflected wider global bond pressure, but Britain's moves were sharper, underscoring how a sixth prime-minister crisis in 10 years is colliding with economic strain from the Iran and Ukraine wars.
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