Pound jumps on UK Labour win. The hurdles the party now faces

In this article:

The UK political landscape has been reshaped by the Labour Party's landslide victory in the country's July 4 election. Rabobank head of FX strategy Jane Foley joins Catalysts to discuss the economic implications of this political shift.

Foley highlights the positive performance of the British pound sterling (6B=F), noting that it has "done well" with "great" gains following the election. She emphasizes that the pound is currently the "best performing G10 currency year to date". However, Foley cautions that while this doesn't necessarily signal strength, it does suggest signs of improvement in the UK's economic outlook.

Despite Labour's win, Foley points out that the party's victory doesn't necessarily reflect a surge in support. Instead, she notes a trend of voters shifting to smaller parties: "Labour hasn't really picked up an awful lot more votes this time around."

This vote, according to Foley, creates a higher bar for the incoming Labour Party leadership, particularly new Prime Minister Keir Starmer. "That suggests [Labour is] going to have to deliver on growth and productivity," she tells Yahoo Finance.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts.

This post was written by Angel Smith

Advertisement