Mixed thoughts have been aired in Staffordshire following the chancellor’s latest Mansion House speech.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves MP made her annual Mansion House speech to the financial services sector on Tuesday evening speaking of her intentions to “deliver the renewal of Britain.”
Launching the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, she outlined the next step in the government’s economic plan – to unleash the vast potential of the UK’s world-leading financial services sector.
A package of “Leeds Reforms” will amount to “the most wide-ranging package of reforms to financial services regulation in more than a decade,” she said.
The government is working with the financial regulator to provide support for would-be investors and says red tape will be cut to attract investment and drive growth. Capital will be freed up for banks to invest in the UK.
First time buyers will be supported to get on the housing ladder, with the Bank of England allowing more lending at over 4.5 times a buyer’s income.
Declan Riddell, Policy Adviser at Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce, said: “In her Mansion House speech, Rachel Reeves said that the government is consulting with the Financial Conduct Authority “to introduce a brand-new type of targeted support for consumers ahead of the new financial year”. We’ll wait to see further details of this and any other measures which could help to drive investment.
“A British Growth ISA has the potential to channel more investment into UK firms and this could encourage more of us invest and provide our backing for British business. Figures confirm that investment in the UK has trailed the other G7 nations since the mid-1990s and this has caused a material impact on growth in the UK.
“We hope to see regulatory reform which will encourage investors to take responsible risk but also serve as a driver for future economic growth and prosperity.”
Although the chancellor stepped back from cutting back tax-free limit on cash ISAs and speculated new taxes on the banking system were not imposed, politics expert Dr Phil Catney has told Daily Focus that there were no big surprises in the speech.
The Senior Lecturer in Politics at Keele University said: “The economy is like a football that has had the valve knocked out of it and the chancellor is trying to find a way to inflate it and get it going again. The best way to do that is through financial services.
“But will other parts of the economy do well from this? There isn’t a lot of clarity that they will. Although it is good for house builders and associated industries, it is not necessarily great for high streets and others.”
Dr Catney raised concerns for regions not home to the big fintech cities and offered advice to Staffordshire.
He added: “People from the region need to have a strong set of requests. The government has a role to support local areas, but local areas need to give the government more of a push. We need to find a way to pack a punch.”
