Too little trust after Brexit for equivalence to work
by Nick Smith Why would you want to be the same as a competitor? In any other walk of life – commerce, sport, romance, politics – we focus on differentiating ourselves. While having parity can be helpful in some respects, what we do better than the other person is always more important. While the UK was always a competitor while inside the EU, there was a framework to that competition. …
The UK needs to focus on equivalence where it most matters
By Shayne Halfpenny-Ray Equivalence is an often discussed and at times overestimated outcome for the UK/EU negotiations, particularly in the space of financial services. Its not inevitable, its likely not to happen, and there are huge chunks of financial services unlikely either to be equivalent or have a mechanism to ever seek such a vaunted goal. I could of course end this killjoy blog here and move on to stamping…
The City is now asking whether equivalence is needed at all
By Tanisha Aggarwal With news that the UK and the EU have reached a deal on financial services co-operation, a pathway to future EU market access is now open for the City of London. However, the technical details do not include the UK Government’s coveted request for equivalence. The EU has indicated that this Memorandum of Understanding may open up the possibility of an equivalence agreement further down the line….
Shorting the City: The Tories’ Brexit deal fails the financial services industry
By Pat McFadden There was a revealing moment in the House of Commons debate on the Government’s Brexit deal. Labour MP Peter Kyle asked the Prime Minister about the absence of coverage for financial services in the deal. The Prime Minister ducked the question but said he was glad Labour was “backing the bankers”. The Prime Minister’s response summed up how the financial services sector has been viewed by much…
Look north, Labour politicians urge the City
Sheffield is packed with people with PhDs. The Tees Valley is home to a skilled workforce of which Britain can be proud. The City can do more to invest in talent and support entrepreneurialism in these regions. Those were some key takeaways from a Labour in the City panel discussion focusing on how the financial services industry can contribute towards a “levelling up” of Britain’s dangerously geographically lop-sided economy. Jessie…
How the City can be a good neighbour
Your business may be global – but think locally about hiring, and mentoring, young people. That was the message to City employers from Rushanara Ali, the Labour MP for Bethnal Green & Bow, during a Q&A session with Labour in the City members. Rushanara’s constituency neighbours the Square Mile – it includes Spitalfields, Whitechapel and a chunk of Bishopsgate, together with East End neighbourhoods such as Stepney and Bow. She…
Sajid Javid: a man in a hurry
So Sajid Javid MP, ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer, has a new job advising JP Morgan. For someone whose standing as a politician went up earlier this year after resigning – and someone who will go down in history as the UK’s first Chancellor of Asian heritage – Mr Javid seems unconcerned about how this move might diminish his reputation and that of his colleagues. It is reasonable for voters to…
Not saying anything racist isn’t enough
Is it time to anonymise CVs to stamp out unconscious bias against BAME people in the financial services industry? Could banks and financial institutions bring in a “Rooney rule”, as in American football, whereby people of colour must be on the interview list for senior jobs? Should responsibility be shouldered by white “allies” to promote ethnic diversity rather than leaving the battle to be fought by BAME colleagues? Those were…
Ten years on: banking beyond the crisis
To mark the tenth anniversary of the global financial crisis, Labour in the City launched an anthology of writing on the future of the financial services industry at a reception at London’s Guildhall with Alistair Darling, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer. More than 150 Labour in the City members heard Lord Darling offer his recollections on his role in stabilising the UK economy at the height of the banking…
The Lehman Trilogy review: where did banking’s purpose go?
By Sophia Morrell, Chair, Labour in the City Ten years on from the financial crisis, both the media and City are replete with perspectives on the crisis. However, none takes so profound a journey as The Lehman Trilogy into the genesis of an institution which is the emblem of a sector that lost its way. The play, written by Stefano Massini and playing at the National Theatre until October 20th,…