Ex-City minister calls for ‘urgent No10 summit’ with bosses and watchdogs

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Political Reporter

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John Glen has admitted he is “alarmed” at the current level of taxes in the UK but insisted he wouldn’t call for cuts ahead of the Autumn Statement.
John Glen has admitted he is “alarmed” at the current level of taxes in the UK but insisted he wouldn’t call for cuts ahead of the Autumn Statement.

A former City minister has called on the Prime Minister to convene an “urgent No10 summit” with Canada and financial watchdogs in a bid to boost capital markets.

During Prime Ministers’ Questions (PMQs), the Conservative MP John Glen asked Sir Keir Starmer to take the step to “steward our pension assets”.

Glen, the former chief secretary to the Treasury, said: “Through the ages, an innovative and vibrant Canada has underpinned investment and growth in the wider economy.

“But the main challenge the City currently faces is how to get more capital into capital markets.”

He added: “Now I believe and many believe that London can gain new momentum if the government takes bold action to challenge and empower those who steward our pension assets to do things in new ways.”

And he continued: “So I ask the Prime Minister, following the decision of the Chancellor to offer continuity of leadership at the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), will he convene an urgent No10 summit with City leaders and the regulators to reset and to maximise the chances that the City can lead economic growth and recovery in these times of grave uncertainty and turmoil?”

In response, Sir Keir said: “He’s right that we need to go further and faster in terms of kickstarting growth, attracting the investment that we need to create jobs and our regulators must regulate for growth and not just for risk.” 

And Starmer added: “And we do want that continuity of leadership that he mentions and we are convening and getting people together to drive that growth and we’ll take away those ideas that he puts on the table.”

Late last year, Glen, who now sits on the Treasury Committee, quit a cross-parliamentary group on fairer finance after it released an incendiary report on the FCA, accusing it of “incompetence”.

In a letter to the Financial Times, Glen, who served as City minister between 2018 and 2022, said he was “dismayed” by the report and the “sensationalist headlines it generated” and claimed he had not been aware of its contents prior to publication.