Apparently, the Square Mile runs the country now, not the party we elected last summer. Who knew democracy meant taking orders from the City of London Corporation? It seems Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have received their marching orders, with the financial elite barking: "Not a second to waste!"
The Chancellor’s recent speech in Oxfordshire, meant to reboot the economy, sounded more like a love letter to the corporate class. A third Heathrow runway, an Oxford-Cambridge "growth corridor," and a regulatory shake-up—exactly the sort of policies that get the City’s blood pumping, not the struggling small businesses or working families waiting for meaningful change. But the fat cats want more. And faster.
"There isn’t a second to waste" – Or Else
Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, wasted no time in making it clear who’s really in charge. "Industry now needs speedy delivery and swift implementation to really get growth growing," he declared, as though we were in a corporate boardroom rather than a democratic state. The message is clear: "We gave you our support. Now dance, puppets!"
Reeves, of course, is eager to comply. "I won’t apologise for wanting to reform how regulation works in Britain," she boldly announced. No, Rachel, we wouldn’t expect you to apologise. But we might ask—who benefits? Because it certainly isn’t the ordinary citizen crushed under soaring costs, stagnant wages, and a collapsing social safety net.
Meanwhile, big business is concerned that Reeves’ October budget’s £25bn national insurance grab is "feeding through into price rises." Of course, it is—because corporations would rather protect profits than people.
Promises, Promises—But for Whom?
The business lobby is thrilled by the prospect of yet another government willing to bend over backwards to accommodate them. The British Chambers of Commerce cautiously welcomed the announcements but warned, "We must have action to back up the words."
Translation: don’t just talk about it, make it happen—before we start funnelling our money elsewhere. BusinessLDN’s John Dickie even suggested that a spending review should prioritise funding for "measures that will help London and the UK to move out of the economic slow lane." By "London," of course, he means the City. And by "UK," he means "anyone useful to us."
What About the Rest of Us?
For all the rhetoric about "growth," where are the policies that address the daily realities of ordinary people? Businesses are drowning in costs, households are buckling under inflation, and public services remain in crisis. Yet, the conversation continues to revolve around cutting through "red tape"—a euphemism for deregulating markets so that corporations can do as they please. Sound familiar? It’s the same trickle-down nonsense repackaged for a post-pandemic, post-Brexit world.
If the Labour government was supposed to offer a reset, what we’ve got instead is more of the same: an economic agenda dictated by the very institutions that brought us austerity, financial crises, and an ever-growing wealth divide. But sure, let’s make Heathrow bigger. That’ll fix everything.
So, go on, Starmer. Crack on. Just don’t be surprised when the people who elected you start wondering whether they voted for a government—or for an outsourced arm of the City of London.
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