As Britain prepares to revisit the ballot box, executives in the City of London are hoping a new government will pay them more attention and put an end to years of political instability.
Business leaders across London’s financial community appear more relaxed than usual about the outcome of the vote on July 4, despite short odds it will return the first Labour Party Prime Minister for more than 14 years, ending the rule of the right-of-centre Conservative Party.
The finance community faced antagonism from Conservative former prime minister Boris Johnson, who before he became leader dismissed companies’ concerns about leaving the European Union.
Relations between the City of London’s finance sector and government have since improved but Brexit, political turbulence and economic uncertainty have all taken their toll on an industry that contributes about 12% of all UK tax receipts.
The disastrous ‘mini-budget’ in September 2022 under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative predecessor Liz Truss, which sent government bond yields soaring, has not been forgotten.
The UK remains a top global destination for investment into finance, but foreign investment in its financial and professional services halved, opens new tab last year, and the London stock market is struggling to attract new listings.