Maude wants UK to regain that edge

Shadow minister for the cabinet office, Francis Maude, spoke about turning around the fortunes of Britain’s financial services sector at an annual client conference hosted by Marsh this week.

Speaking ahead of next year’s general election, Maude said it was important that Britain became a competitive business environment as the country comes out of recession.

“None of us should have any illusion that the financial services sector in this country is a huge strength for Britain. It needs to be supported and this continues to be an important venture for the future,” he said.

“Over time, we need to make Britain a fantastically competitive place to do business.” He added: “We have lost some of our competitive edge, but it can be regained.”

Maude also said the Conservative Party was “really concerned” about companies quitting the UK for more competitive tax environments, such as the Netherlands and Bermuda. “It is really bad news for Britain that companies are saying that they want to be headquartered elsewhere. We need to be really alert to it.”