We are keen to keep you updated on the important work we are doing on Brexit, particularly in light of the huge political change we have seen recently. We want to represent your views, ideas and concerns and feed them directly in to the City’s work on influencing the terms of the UK’s exit from the EU.

There is a critical need for us to understand the position of City businesses and to help to shape and reflect those positions to policymakers. Likewise we are focussing on understanding where political and regulatory policy makers are coming from and influencing them.

Our aim is to seek to minimise any loss of business from the City by ensuring that there is a full understanding of the implications of various options and, with others, making the appropriate policy representations. We also seek to explore and promote compensatory policy and other measures to take advantage of opportunities to increase business for the City, London and the UK as a whole.

The City Corporation is working closely with TheCityUK and the International Regulatory Strategy Group. We are also fully engaged in the various industry fora.

The following questions are pertinent. Please let us have your views on these, or any other aspect:

• What can we do to minimise business moving away from the City as a result of the current uncertainty?
• What can we do to attract more new business into the City?
• Are there any specific areas that we should be seeking to promote (Fintech and green finance are obvious examples, where we are already very active)?
• What form does continued access to the Single Market need to take?
• How do we ensure that industry continues to have access to the skilled workers from EU member states it requires?
• How do we achieve stability in the regulatory environment – no major changes?
• How can we best increase business with non EU countries – noting that additional resources have been agreed to fund this work?
• What contribution can we make to counter the view outside London that London generally and the City specifically are not seen as benefitting the rest of the economy?

What can we do to counter the small but significant element of xenophobia that has been experienced in recent weeks?

A substantial increase in the Corporation’s budget to cover representational work has also been agreed, as referenced above, which will predominantly be used to:

• Build Future Products and Services: providing a stronger focus on innovative policy development to respond to new challenges and to secure the position of the City as a premier financial services centre for the future.
• Strengthen the Regulatory Framework: providing strong leadership for the City on strategic policy and regulatory issues affecting London as a financial services centre.
• Promote Exports and Investment: developing a new approach to provide attractive customer service for businesses served by the Corporation’s trade and investment work.

Please do contact the Members with any suggestions or concerns.

Best wishes,

Alderman Michael Mainelli
Common Councilmen John Bennett, John Scott and Chris Hayward.

As your elected representatives we want to ensure that the City Corporation plays a full and proactive role in securing the best exit terms possible, representing the interests of all of London’s stakeholders, including yours.  Please contact us if there are any specific aspects that you would like us to put forward on your behalf.  The City’s position:

“The City of London has thrived as a financial and trading centre for more than a thousand years and will continue to do so.

 “There will be no mass exit of banks and financial institutions from the Square Mile.

 “While there will be uncertainty as Brexit negotiations go on we are still the financial centre of the fifth-largest economy in the world.

 “The task now is to respect the will of the British people and secure the best deal we can in the negotiations that will follow this vote.

 “Financial services contribute £66.5bn in taxes to the Treasury – 11% of total government receipts – and City businesses we have consulted believe they must be allowed access to the single market without discrimination.

 “Financial and professional services account for 2.1million jobs in the UK – 7.2% of workers – and City businesses I have consulted believe we must be allowed to trade with passporting rights with the 27 member states of the EU.

 “The Government should now engage in a period of consultation to ensure we can keep creating jobs both in London and throughout the country.

 “The general view of the City is that the Government should push for the UK to retain our access to the Single Market.

 “Any other option will fail to provide proper arrangements for financial services and risks damaging this vital industry.

 “There is also a clear view in the City of London that our labour market must be kept flexible. European nations have provided much of the highly-skilled talent we need to succeed and this level of support given to the British economy must continue.

 “For our part the City of London Corporation will continue to engage with EU policy makers and continue to promote London as Europe’s international financial and business centre.

 “We have had a thorough, open and democratic debate.

 “All sides of this debate must now put aside their differences to do what is in the best interests of ensuring the UK remains a success on the international stage.”

We are working with other stakeholders to preserve the City’s position.  The Chairman of Policy, Mark Boleat, has chaired meetings of the major trade associations and spoken with the Mayor of London and the Treasury.  Further meetings are being arranged. There is common agreement on the need to maintain access to the single market.  Our own Common Councilman, Chris Hayward, as Chairman of the Corporation’s Planning Committee, is meeting with the development community to reassure them and to secure continued investment in City wide projects.

The referendum decision will have significant implications for the City’s work in a number of areas.

Best wishes, Alderman Michael Mainelli, Deputy John Bennett and Common Councilmen John Scott and Chris Hayward