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The UK Treasury promised to boost the competitiveness of the country’s financial sector post-Brexit. One year on, MPs say these “big promises” are undelivered.
ADVERTISEMENTThe ‘Edinburgh Reforms’, introduced by UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in late 2022, have so far failed to make the nation’s financial centre more attractive to global investors.
That’s according to a report released on Friday by the Treasury Select Committee.
In introducing the reforms, Hunt claimed he would maintain the UK’s high regulatory standards, but promised he would capitalise on pro-Brexit freedom, as it’s no longer the European Union who determines the UK’s banking rules.
The policy also sought to tackle the negative effects of Brexit on the financial sector.
When London’s financial district was banned from offering EU-listed shares to clients outside the UK, the City began to lose businesses and bankers to European hubs like Amsterdam.
In some circles, the reforms were even branded as the ‘Big Bang 2.0’ because of plans to ease listing rules for the London Stock Exchange, a reference to deregulation in the 1980s that helped to turn the City into a global force in finance.
Yet despite the fanfare that launched the Edinburgh Reforms, Friday’s report was downbeat.
“From what has been completed so far, the Sub-Committee is of the view that none of the achievements to date will make a substantial difference to the UK economy,” the committee’s members said.
Separately, City minister Bim Afolami argued that the government had delivered 22 of the 31 proposed Edinburgh Reforms, something that the committee contests.
“We do not consider reviews alone to be reforms,” states the report. “Many of the strands of work included in the Edinburgh Reforms are not reforms, but are more preparatory work for potential reforms in the future and should be treated as such.”
The review found that six actions deemed “delivered” by the government are not yet complete, and a further six only involved publishing a document or welcoming a public consultation.
Implementing changes is taking too long, often stalled at the finance ministry, MPs said, adding that reforms that make the most difference should now be prioritised.
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