Publication from Siân Berry: The Mayor, Banks and Europe

Ever since Ken Livingstone was elected in 2000, London’s mayors have seen it as their role to defend London’s financial services industry.

But in this report I argue that it’s the Mayor of London’s job to stand up for all our 8,000,000 residents and over 900,000 small and medium sized businesses, who all need financial services to be on their side, contributing to a diverse and secure economy.

Anyone stung by the PPI mis-selling scandal, overcharged for their bank account or suffering from an economic slump triggered by out-of-control global finance has good reason to want their Mayor to fight their corner.

The one in three entrepreneurs who have been declined credit by high street banks, according to the Federation of Small Businesses, need better support. Everybody with a pension plan needs the financial markets to put profits into their funds, not into the pockets of high-frequency traders.

Boris Johnson spent eight years uncritically supporting banks and lobbying against positive EU reforms, such as a financial transaction tax and the bankers’ bonus cap. Now we could face four years of our new Mayor following in his footsteps, and the prospect of the UK leaving the EU and losing many of those positive reforms.

My recommendations are:

• Now that he is Mayor, Sadiq Khan must not let himself become captured by banking and big business lobbyists, against the interests of Londoners.
• The Mayor should support the campaign for a financial transaction tax, and campaign strongly to remain in the EU so that we can be party to it. London’s financial services would be stronger and work better for Londoners with the UK remaining in the EU and with our politicians lobbying for reforms like this.
• If the UK were to leave the European Union the limits on excessive pay represented by the bankers’ bonus cap could be removed, worsening inequality in London. Inside Europe, the Mayor should lobby for Londoners in order to ensure this policy remains in place and is applied to more financial institutions.
• To achieve a healthier banking sector, the Mayor should look to continental Europe for inspiration and allies in reforming our banking sector and developing new ways of doing banking in London that builds a stronger more diverse economy that works for all Londoners not just a few very rich banks and bankers.

Download the report