Mansfield and Warsop MP Ben Bradley has welcomed the Government’s announcement of a major overhaul of financial regulations, taking advantage of the UK’s hard won Brexit freedoms. These new regulations will unlock investment across the UK economy, delivering jobs and opportunities to all regions of the country.
At the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor highlighted financial services as one the UK’s five key growth sectors. Today, in a written statement to Parliament, the Chancellor set out a collection of announcements taking forward the government’s ambition for the UK to be the world’s most innovative and competitive global financial centre.
The government’s approach to reforming the financial services regulatory landscape recognises and protects the foundations on which the UK’s success as a financial services hub is built: agility, consistently high regulatory standards, and openness. This will ensure the sector benefits from dynamic, proportionate regulation and that consumers and citizens benefit from high quality services, appropriate consumer protection and from a sector that embraces the latest technology.
Leaving the EU has provided the country with a golden opportunity to reshape the regulatory regime in place. The changes announced today by the Chancellor will seize upon this opportunity and unlock the full potential of the UK’s world-leading financial sector to drive growth and opportunity in the UK economy.
The Chancellor said: “We are committed to securing the UK’s status as one of the most open, dynamic and competitive financial services hubs in the world. The Edinburgh Reforms seize on our Brexit freedoms to deliver an agile and homegrown regulatory regime that works in the interest of British people and our businesses. And we will go further – delivering reform of burdensome EU laws that choke off growth in other industries such as digital technology and life sciences.”
The major new package of regulatory reforms will be the biggest overhaul of financial regulation in more than three decades, and building on work such as reforms to Solvency II. These will allow insurance companies to invest around £100billion into UK infrastructure and clean energy over the next decade.
Ben Bradley MP stated:
‘I have long made the case that Brexit is a journey and did not simply end with us leaving the EU. Instead, it is important that those Brexit freedoms we fought so hard to secure are properly utilised in order to make the most out of this opportunity. I welcome the Chancellor’s announcement of this major overhaul of financial regulation to take advantage of these freedoms.
‘These reforms will not only help attract more investment into the UK, but will help deliver jobs and opportunities to people all over the country through driving economic growth now we are free of EU regulation. I look forward to seeing further announcements from government on how our Brexit freedoms will be utilised moving forward.’
