Reform UK Plans to Strip FCA of Banking Oversight in Radical City of London Shake-Up
Farage Eyes Post-2008 Rules
Nigel Farage is preparing to roll back key financial regulations introduced in the wake of the 2008 financial crash, with Reform UK considering stripping the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of its powers to regulate Britain’s banking industry.
According to reports, the Reform UK leader has told close allies that, if elected, his government would prioritise a sweeping overhaul of the City of London’s regulatory framework in an attempt to boost economic growth and competitiveness.
Farage, a former metals trader before entering politics, has long been a critic of what he sees as excessive red tape constraining the financial services sector.
FCA in the Firing Line
At the heart of his plan is a proposal to remove the FCA’s responsibility for banking oversight and transfer it back to the Bank of England.
“Nigel thinks the FCA is a disaster and banking regulation needs to go back to the Bank of England,” a source close to Farage told the Financial Times.
The move would effectively unwind reforms introduced by then-Conservative chancellor George Osborne in 2013. Those reforms had created a new architecture for financial regulation following the near-collapse of several UK banks during the global financial crisis. The aim at the time was to strengthen consumer protection and ensure closer scrutiny of banking conduct.
Poll Position and Election Timing
Reform UK currently sits at the top of some opinion polls, with Farage openly discussing the possibility of an early general election in 2027. His rhetoric has increasingly turned toward economic reform, as the party seeks to broaden its platform beyond its traditional focus on immigration and sovereignty.
For Farage, financial deregulation is being cast as a way to revive Britain’s status as a global financial hub and accelerate growth at a time when the UK economy faces sluggish performance.
Potential Consequences
The proposal is likely to prove controversial, not only among political rivals but also within the financial services sector itself. Critics argue that weakening the FCA’s role could undermine consumer protection and risk repeating the regulatory failures that contributed to the 2008 crash.
Banking analysts have also warned that such changes could unsettle international investors by creating uncertainty about the UK’s regulatory direction.
Defenders of Osborne’s reforms point out that the FCA was deliberately set up as an independent watchdog to prevent banks from taking excessive risks while ignoring the interests of customers. Stripping it of its powers, they say, would be a backward step.
A Symbolic Battle
For Farage, however, the issue is symbolic of his wider agenda. Reform UK has presented itself as the party willing to challenge established institutions, including the Bank of England, the civil service, and now the City’s regulatory framework.
By targeting the FCA, Farage is signalling a determination to reassert political control over financial regulation in pursuit of growth — a move that could define Reform UK’s economic platform if the party maintains its lead in the polls.
Whether such reforms would survive scrutiny in Parliament or with the public remains to be seen. But the debate they spark will underline how financial regulation — once seen as the domain of technocrats — is again becoming a political battleground.
