Today (Monday 18 July), the Finance For Our Future broad coalition of leading UK civil society organisations, including the Finance Innovation Lab, is calling on the government to ensure its proposed new rules for our financial sector prioritise creating a fairer economy for the long term.
Following its exit from the EU, the UK is undertaking the biggest reforms to its financial regulation in a generation.
The upcoming Financial Services and Markets Bill will fundamentally rewrite the rules that shape this critical sector. The government has called this “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” – our coalition believes it is crucial the UK seizes it to address the biggest challenges we face as a country today.
But the government’s current ‘Future Regulatory Framework’ proposals are a hangover not only from before the cost of living crisis, but also the global financial crisis. They would force the regulators of the finance industry to become cheerleaders rather than watchdogs, and risk crashing the economy again – like in 2008.
It’s clear to most people that the most urgent priority now is fixing the economy – not just reacting to the immediate challenges of price rises and inflation, but tackling the fundamentals of building a fairer system. The finance sector has to be at the heart of that. The Financial Services and Markets Bill is a major test for whether the next leader of the Conservative Party is serious about tackling the UK’s biggest challenges.
Marloes Nicholls, The Finance Innovation Lab’s Head of Policy and Advocacy,
Brexit means the rules for the finance sector are being rewritten. The central questions are: what should the purpose of new regulation be, and who should benefit from it? The government must use this golden opportunity to build a fairer economy for the long-term: public interest objectives for regulators would support the financial sector to power sustainable growth right across the whole country, ensure everyone is able to access essential financial services like cash and bank branches, and invest in upgrading to a cleaner and more reliable energy system.
The campaign’s brand new website has essential resources to help you learn more about why this is so important right now, and what we as a coalition are doing.