The government’s disastrous mini budget that crashed the markets and sent mortgage rates soaring has shown us just how much of an impact financial services have in our everyday lives.
Whether it’s bank branch closures or unethical payday lenders, making sure the financial sector is regulated properly makes a big difference to the lives of my constituents in Hampstead and Kilburn. That’s why I have been holding the government to account to address serious gaps in its Financial Services and Markets Bill as Labour’s shadow city minister.
I know many of you will be concerned about the swathes of bank branch closures that have left our local community without the services they need. We must ensure that those who need in personal banking services continue to have access to them and this is why I forced a vote on guaranteeing access to essential in-person banking services across the country.
As more rely on credit and borrowing to cope with the soaring cost of living, I have also been pushing ministers to accept my Labour colleague Stella Creasy’s amendment to the bill calling for “buy now pay later” firms to be properly regulated. Right now, my constituents are not protected from misleading financial promotions on websites which is putting many of them at risk of unsustainable debt.
Another amendment I tabled would compel the government to bring forward a concrete green finance strategy for the financial sector and to work towards a clearly defined green taxonomy and sustainability disclosure requirements. We must ensure that we are investing in green technologies of the future in order to achieve net zero, and innovation in finance will be crucial for this.
Finally, with ÂŁ1.3bn of cash lost to fraud and financial scams last year, I also tabled an amendment to the Bill calling for a new fraud strategy to protect consumers and businesses.
It’s been over a decade since the government last brought forward a national fraud strategy, despite the explosion of online financial scams, including new types of fraud such as identity theft and online scams which are making criminals rich at the public’s expense.
As the UK faces the cost-of-living crisis, this is an opportunity to work with the City to create legislation that not only strengthens our financial services sector but directly improves the lives of my constituents in Hampstead and Kilburn. It is clear that the City will play an important role in how we tackle this crisis and protect our economy against future shocks.
Tulip Siddiq is Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn.
