Rachel Reeves to attempt Margaret Thatcher-style 'Big Bang' in desperate bid to salvage UK growth

GDP growth falls in blow for Rachel Reeves - WATCH
GB NEWS
James Saunders

By James Saunders


Published: 12/07/2025

- 21:18

Updated: 12/07/2025

- 22:01

'Forget Paris, New York and Frankfurt - come to London, Leeds and Edinburgh,' the Chancellor is set to urge City bosses

Rachel Reeves is set to attempt a Margaret Thatcher-style "Big Bang" by promising to cut regulation on banks this week.

In what will be her first solo public address since tearing up in the Commons, the Chancellor will use her Mansion House speech to urge the sector to place its faith in Britain - and put staff here too.


She is also planning to announce plans to cut restrictive regulations on banks and financial services firms.

A Treasury source said: "Millions of Britons work in financial services, but for too long red tape and excessive regulation has choked off innovation and growth in the economy.

"Well, no more. Britain is entering a new era.

"We will slash regulation and make the UK the best place in the world to do business.

Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves on a visit to the London Stock Exchange in 2023

PICTURED: Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves on a visit to the London Stock Exchange in 2023

PA

"Forget Paris, New York and Frankfurt - come to London, Leeds and Edinburgh," the source told The Sun.

"Rachel is determined to create a new Big Bang which will turbocharge growth in the economy for a new generation to put more pounds in people's pockets."

Her speech will follow a fall in gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 0.1 per cent in May, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

That followed a 0.3 per cent contraction in Britain's economy in April - despite Reeves and Labour's pledges to kickstart growth.

But Reeves's push for a new "Big Bang" will seek to turn those numbers around.

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Denis Thatcher and Margaret Thatcher

In 1986, the Thatcher Government carried out a sudden deregulation of the City - the 'Big Bang'

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In 1986, the Thatcher Government carried out a sudden deregulation of the City - and London Stock Exchange - which cemented London's place as this side of the Atlantic's financial capital.

If such a "bang" happens again, it could uproot the "sluggish" underlying growth which top economist Julian Jessop warned of, writing for GB News.

"The economy is set to grow by little more than one per cent over 2025 as a whole, little changed from last year, and well short of the numbers needed to fix the public finances," Jessop wrote for Britain's News Channel.

"With no sign that Government spending is being brought back under control, Rachel Reeves may have to come back with even more tax increases in the Autumn Budget. In the meantime, business and consumer confidence are still fragile."

READ JULIAN JESSOP'S ANALYSIS IN FULL: Is Britain heading towards a cliff? Three charts signal economic disaster is coming as 'suspicious' pattern emerges

Rachel Reeves

A 2025 'Big Bang' could uproot Britain's 'sluggish' underlying growth

PA

Labour had made growth a core manifesto promise - despite the Tories' attack line that they had left Britain with the fastest-growing economy in the G7.

And over the course of this year, the Treasury has blamed external factors for Britain's stagnant growth rates.

"If you dig into the numbers, it shows that trade and production are weak," the Chancellor previously told GB News.

"I think that reflects the tariffs that came in April."