Client Update - 5th June 2026

In our ongoing political saga, Andy Burnham has formally indicated that he will enter a Labour leadership contest if he wins the Makerfield by election on 18 June, saying he would seek to represent the constituency “at the highest possible level”. His comments follow suggestions that Wes Streeting may also be preparing a leadership bid. Under Labour rules, any challenger must be an MP and secure backing from 81 colleagues.

Polling for the by election shows Burnham ahead of Reform UK, though the race remains competitive. Labour’s strategic direction could shift depending on the outcome. Sir Keir Starmer’s allies argue he could survive if Burnham loses, believing the party would rally behind him to block a challenge from Wes Streeting.

More significantly, a Burnham defeat would likely push Labour away from efforts to win back traditional working class voters who have shifted towards Reform. If Burnham cannot hold ground in his own region, there is a growing view internally that the party should instead consolidate the progressive vote — focusing on younger voters, urban professionals, and graduates. This could mean a clearer stance against the Netanyahu government, softening migration restrictions, advocating for closer ties with the EU, expanding net zero commitments and embracing wealth and business taxes.

Even if Burnham wins, pressure to lean leftward may grow. His own approach blends economic interventionism with sensitivity to immigration concerns and the priorities of his local electorate. Ultimately, Labour is shifting left in multiple ways, and this broader realignment risks deepening political polarisation — with debate increasingly shaped by identity and cultural divides rather than detailed policy.

Meanwhile, over in the US, the tech giants are lining up to take advantage of the AI boom as AI tool Claude’s creator Anthropic has filed for an initial public offering (IPO), basically a listing on the stock market, after SpaceX went first last month, and OpenAI is expected to follow shortly. Not wanting to miss the party, Google’s parent Alphabet has announced plans to raise a casual $85bn — its first stock offering in over 20 years.

All told, these mega listings could reach a combined valuation of around $4tn. That’s roughly a third of the inflation adjusted value of every US IPO between 1980 and 2025. We are told not to worry, the US stock market is enormous, and there is currently suitable demand. With index providers ready to fast track these companies into benchmarks, and only small portions of shares actually hitting the market at first, most analysts think the system can swallow these huge listings.

But more is coming. Other tech darlings like Stripe and Databricks may join the queue, and Big Tech could issue more shares to fund the eye watering cost of AI infrastructure — especially while interest rates remain high.

The bigger question is whether investors will stay enthusiastic once the novelty wears off. For now, optimism rules. But as more shares hit the market, investors may eventually want more than big dreams and shiny robots. At some point, the fear of missing out may be replaced by a fear of high valuations, but this doesn’t seem to be the case quite yet. Do have a good weekend.