FT News Briefing UK bond vigilantes ride again
45 snips
May 13, 2026 
Claire Jones, U.S. economics editor at the Financial Times, offers crisp analysis of rising US inflation and its ripple effects. Ian Smith, senior markets correspondent at the Financial Times, explains gilt sell-offs, investor risk premiums and political volatility shaking UK borrowing costs. They discuss soaring fuel costs, market reactions and drying private credit inflows in short, punchy segments.
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Bond Vigilantes Push Gilt Yields Higher
- Gilt investors are driving up UK borrowing costs by demanding higher yields amid political uncertainty and an oil-driven inflation shock.
- Ian Smith reports 30-year gilt yields hit their highest since 1998 as markets price potential increased long-term issuance if Keir Starmer were replaced.
Investors Favor Wes Streeting For Stability
- Investors prefer Wes Streeting as a market-friendly successor because he's a centrist likely to continue Starmer's fiscal approach.
- Nine of ten fund managers told Ian Smith they view Streeting as the least disruptive candidate for gilt markets.
Andy Burnham Seen As Biggest Gilt Risk
- Andy Burnham is seen as the most market-unfriendly potential leader because investors fear a leftward shift and bigger debt issuance.
- Burnham called for Labour not to be 'in hock to the bond market', stoking investor doubt about future borrowing.