City faces worst collapse in profits since financial crisis after tax raid
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Rachel Reeves is facing calls to abandon a trip to China with Andrew Bailey as demands mount for urgent action to calm financial markets. The Chancellor is embarking on a long-planned visit to the country with the Governor of the Bank of England and Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as part of a reset in relations.
Mr Bailey and Rathi are understood to already be in the air. It means the three most senior figures in Britain’s financial sector will be out of the country as markets descend into turmoil, with sharp falls in the pound and a rise in borrowing costs.
Ms Reeves failed to attend an urgent question in Parliament about the surge in Government borrowing costs earlier, with her deputy Darren Jones refusing to say whether she had already left for China. Senior politicians and City grandees argued that Ms Reeves must cancel her trip to China and instead focus on undoing the damage.
Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, said Ms Reeves was “missing in action”, adding: “The Chancellor should now cancel her travel and focus on this country instead.”. Billionaire financier Lord Spencer argued that she has got herself into a “catastrophic mess” and must abandon her trip.
Lord Spencer, a former Tory party treasurer, said: “The situation is unlikely to sort itself out easily - she’d be very well advised to cancel her trip to China.”. Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “Instead of jetting off to China, the Chancellor should urgently come before the House of Commons to cancel her counterproductive jobs tax and set out a real plan for growth.
