I think the last few days are best summed up in two ways.

First:

The second is…

Harry Kane and John Stones are set to become the first England internationals to go through a change of prime minister during a major international football tournament for a record breaking third time. It was David Cameron during the 2016 Euros, Rishi Sunak during the 2024 Euros, and now Kier Starmer during the 2026 World Cup.

Whilst not exactly as absurd as that one time a lettuce outlasted Liz Truss as PM, this whole debacle with Starmer stepping down and the “Coronation” of Andy Burnham is not far off.

Streeting takes the knee

But this does give the government a chance to reset.

I mean, surely it can’t get any worse… can it?

In a veiled swipe at the absurdity of it all, Starmer said during his resignation speech that he would remain in post until a proper leadership contest had been completed.

There would, he assured everyone, be a new party leader before Parliament returned in September.

Ha!

By that afternoon, Wes Streeting had already bent the knee to Burnham, no doubt hoping for a comfortable promotion to Foreign Secretary or another senior role.

The sort of position that sets you up nicely for a lucrative private-sector career once Parliament eventually moves on without you.

That show of loyalty to his new master all but cleared Burnham’s path to Number 10, which, at this rate, could happen within weeks.

So much for the leadership contest, Keir.

But despite all the talk of “full support” during the resignation speech, not everyone appears to be on board.

According to Andrew Neil,

“Team Burnham pressed Keir Starmer to stay on over the summer to give their man time to prepare for power. Starmer rebuffed them in no uncertain manner: you’re forcing me out because you think I’m useless. So why should I wait til September at your convenience?”

You have to wonder whether Burnham has the mettle to stand toe-to-toe with Trump, Vance, and Rubio and rekindle the so-called special relationship.

To be honest, it may not matter very much anyway.

As all this unfolds, it makes for fascinating political theatre, as politics often does.

The less entertaining reality is that more tax raids are likely coming.

Tax raids on capital gains.

Tax raids through bracket creep.

Or simply a punitive wealth tax aimed at the “rich” — which usually turns out to mean the middle class.

If you thought there was a flight of wealth from Britain under Starmer, I suspect it’s about to get worse. (If you missed Nick’s email yesterday, read it here. He has much more to say on this matter.)

So what do you do?

When there is a governance problem this severe, how do you sidestep it?

You can’t ignore rising energy costs.

You can’t ignore the failure to deliver major infrastructure projects.

You can’t ignore the problems with trade or the decline of home-grown industries, from agriculture to advanced engineering.

I’ve always tended to avoid political dramas for exactly those reasons.

Ultimately, there isn’t much we can do about them.

We can vote when the time comes. And yes, every vote counts.

But looking at the state of things, they’re not exactly very good at the job, are they?

Tories. Labour. Reform. The Greens. Lib Dems.

None of them seem particularly good at governing. Maybe it’s finally time to give Count Binface a turn.

You can’t control the decisions that politicians make. What you can control is how you manage your own wealth in a way that ensures you don’t hand over a single penny more than you’re legally obliged to.

And if you’re good at growing that wealth, you can rise above much of this fascinating but ultimately futile exercise of worrying about politics.

Because right now, no major party appears focused on the issues that really matter for national sovereignty.

Energy independence.  Sovereign AI. Border security. Or meaningfully supporting domestic agriculture and manufacturing.

That makes it much harder to uncover major opportunities in the UK.

But I keep coming back to the same conclusion.

At some point, every political party will arrive at the same unavoidable realisation. Energy will be the defining policy issue of the next decade. And the countries that get it right will have a significant advantage over those that don’t. 

Cheap energy is the answer. The only answer.

The reality is that the only way Britain can stage a meaningful resurgence in an intensely competitive global economy is through cheaper, more abundant energy. And the fastest way to achieve that is by leaning back into the oil and gas industry.

That means tapping the North Sea again.

It means lifting the ban on fracking.

And it means looking across Britain’s territories to unlock the full potential of their natural resources and make the country more energy independent, more competitive, and more capable of generating growth.

You might think it’s not that simple. I think it is.

Cheaper energy means stronger economic growth… higher living standards… rising wages… less dependence on welfare… and ultimately, a more prosperous Britain.

At some point, every political party will arrive at the same unavoidable conclusion: It’s the only way out. When they do, it will trigger a boom in British oil and gas unlike anything we’ve seen before.

For a handful of small — and large — British companies, it could be transformational.

And for investors willing to take what may be the most contrarian position in the British market today, it could be extraordinarily rewarding.

Until next time,

Sam Volkering
Investment Director, Southbank Investment Research

PS My frustration with British politics comes from one simple observation: Every government eventually runs into the same wall. You can’t tax your way to growth. You can’t regulate your way to prosperity. And you can’t build a competitive economy on expensive energy.

Sooner or later, whoever is in power will be forced to confront that reality. When they do, I believe Britain’s oil and gas industry could become one of the biggest beneficiaries.

In fact, I think one discovery already sitting within British territory could prove every bit as important as the North Sea was in the 1970s.

You can read the full story here.