Can the City make friends with Chancellor John Healey?
John Healey's surprise appointment as UK Chancellor has drawn comparisons to Denis Healey's 1976 IMF bailout era, though the new Chancellor inherits a slightly better economic situation. A Bloomberg poll showed Healey was the second most popular choice among City executives, behind West Streeting. Healey previously served as Economic Secretary and Financial Secretary to the Treasury under Tony Blair, where he championed light-touch regulation for the City in 2006, defending the 'innovation, flair and light-touch regulation' that made London a leading financial centre. However, Healey faces three major constraints: his own recent resignation over defence funding, Prime Minister Andy Burnham's tendency to announce policies before finding funding, and limited public and market appetite for further tax increases. Gilt yields have already begun rising as markets assess the challenges facing the new Chancellor, though the situation is not as dire as 1976.
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