The pound is under pressure and the yield on 10-year UK government bonds has risen to 4.59 percent amid increased political uncertainty. The gap between 10-year and 2-year government bonds - a measure of the political risk premium that market participants require to lend to the country's government - has thus widened to the highest level since 2018.
Starmer's crisis of confidence has accelerated since it emerged that he appointed Peter Mandelson as the UK ambassador to the United States in December 2024. He did so despite knowing that Mandelson had links to convicted and deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
