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28 August 2026

Facetime for finance firms soared under Starmer

Burnham urged to break Labour’s cosy relationship with the City by taxing bank profits

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London, 28 August 2026 - Meetings with banks and finance lobbyists more than doubled under Keir Starmer’s government when compared to Boris Johnson’s, according to new analysis from think tanks the Autonomy Institute and Positive Money. 

Looking at meetings from 2020-2025 between government officials and finance lobbyists and banks regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the research shows that average monthly meetings rose from 27 per month under Boris Johnson’s government to 45 per month under Rishi Sunak’s, before soaring to 55 per month in the first 18 months of Keir Starmer’s government.

Recent events have raised questions over what the financial sector lobbies for in private meetings with politicians. Reform leader Nigel Farage was reported to the standards watchdog last month by Labour MP Phil Brickell, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on anti-corruption and responsible tax, over concerns that Farage was lobbying the Bank of England not to create a publicly-owned digital payments system at the behest of his crypto donors, whose profit margins could be impacted by the competition such a system would generate. Bank of England Governor, Andrew Bailey, denies that any changes were made to the Bank’s plans for the digital pound as a result of his meeting with Farage and Reform’s deputy leader, Richard Tice.

This incident follows revelations unveiled in the Mandelson files earlier in the year, showing that whilst a government minister, Peter Mandelson privately advised Jamie Dimon, the CEO of banking giant JPMorgan, to “mildly threaten” then-Chancellor Alistair Darling over the latter’s proposed tax on bankers’ bonuses. Dimon reportedly told Darling that the bank wouldn’t build offices in the UK or keep buying UK debt if the bonus tax went ahead. Darling ultimately resisted such lobbying and implemented the tax; the offices in question were built regardless and JPMorgan continues to buy gilts. 

This puts Darling at odds with former Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who did not proceed with a tax on the record profits banks have made from higher interest rates in either her 2024 or 2025 Autumn Budgets, after a very public lobbying campaign from the City. OpenDemocracy revealed last year that JPMorgan had written to Reeves ahead of the 2024 Budget threatening to leave the UK if such a tax was implemented. Before Andy Burnham’s appointment, Dimon threatened to rescind plans for a new tower in Canary Wharf if Keir Starmer is replaced by a Prime Minister ‘hostile to banks,’ and he has since warned there will be ‘consequences’ if Burnham taxes banks.

The Ethics and Integrity Commission recently released a review of Westminster’s lobbying culture in the wake of the Mandelson scandal, recommending that all lobbying of government officials, including over channels like WhatsApp, should be publicly declared. Both Positive Money and the Autonomy Institute support this recommendation, and call on Andy Burnham to demonstrate resilience against City lobbyists by implementing a windfall tax on bank profits in this year’s Autumn Budget. Positive Money estimates that such a tax could raise £19 billion in 2026 from just the UK’s four biggest banks. 

Sara Hall, Co-Executive Director at Positive Money, said:

“Despite promises that those with the broadest shoulders would bear the greatest burden, Starmer and Reeves repeatedly failed to take on corporate power, instead piling costs onto small businesses and ordinary people, who never forgave them for it. The oversized influence of corporate lobbyists in Westminster has undoubtedly played a huge part in this failure to prioritise the public interest.

“It was cosy relationships with financiers that eroded public faith in the last Labour government, and now threatens to tank the Reform Party. Andy Burnham has a brief window to restore trust in politics with bold policies that show the public he’s on our side, such as a windfall tax on the banks that have profited directly at our expense.”

Dr. Will Stronge, CEO of the Autonomy Institute said:

"When officials can trade their influence for private gain, trust in our institutions withers.

"Labour learned that lesson the hard way as exposed by the recent scandals and Reform might be about to learn it too. Andy Burnham has a narrow window to show whose side he is on, and a windfall tax on the banks profiting from this crisis would be a good place to start."

Notes to editors:

Contact:

For more information or to speak to a spokesperson please contact press@positivemoney.org.uk 

About Positive Money:

Positive Money is an international research and campaign organisation working to redesign our economic system for social justice and a liveable planet. Set up in the aftermath of the financial crisis, Positive Money is a not-for-profit company funded by charitable trusts and foundations, as well as small donations from its network of supporters. Find out more: www.positivemoney.org 

About The Autonomy Institute:

The Autonomy Institute is an independent, not for profit research organisation which creates data-driven tools and research for sustainable societies. Find out more: autonomy.work   

ENDS

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