New CMA chair to take pro-growth approach after Reeves intervention
The UK’s competition regulator will get behind Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ pro-growth demands after a new coalition of Labour MPs called for a “rapid review” of all ongoing work.
Labour’s Growth Group, a centrist movement of around 110 MPs and ministers, said it had written to new interim chair Doug Gurr and chief executive Sarah Cardell urging a change of approach.
Gurr, a former boss of Amazon, was brought in this week after Marcus Bokkerink was effectively ousted by ministers in what amounted to the clearest signal yet of the government’s approach to UK regulators.
In his first remarks since taking the job, Gurr acknowledged the watchdog’s responsibility to “play a leading role in the ambitions for growth and prosperity” of the UK. “Sarah and I are already working closely on how we take forward thinking to achieve that.”
The Labour Growth Group’s letter reads: “This is not about deregulation for its own sake, protecting consumers must always be a priority —it is about ensuring that regulation enables competition, attracts investment, and drives prosperity.”
One member, Livingston MP Gregor Poynton, said: “Competitive markets drive growth by lowering prices and spurring innovation, benefiting consumers and businesses across the UK. However, the CMA’s approach significantly impacts investor confidence in the stability of UK regulation.
“Too often, it has overreached, stifling investment rather than ensuring markets work for consumers.”
Steve Race, the MP for Exeter, said the Chancellor was “right to take action” to ensure the CMA is focused on economic growth as part of its remit.
“Indeed, not only the CMA, but all our regulatory bodies, should be working actively to ensure they’re playing their part in boosting prosperity across the UK,” he added.
City lawyers have described the ousting of Bokkerink as the “most overtly political” regulatory intervention of recent years.