Nigel Farage could strip the City watchdog of its power to regulate the banking industry under a sweeping overhaul to undo changes made after the 2008 financial crisis if Reform UK was elected to government.
The leader of the party at the top of opinion polls has said he wants to prepare for the potential for an early general election in 2027.
A metals trader before entering politics, Farage has told allies that a Reform UK government would sweep away rules governing the City of London as a priority to boost economic growth, the Financial Times reported.
This would include stripping the Financial Conduct Authority of its role in regulating banks, with control handed instead 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 paper.
Such a development would reverse changes introduced by the former Conservative chancellor George Osborne to strengthen consumer protection and increase financial stability after the worst banking crash of the postwar era.
Under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, the Financial Services Authority was abolished and its powers to handle financial stability issues was handed to the Bank of England, while the FCA was created to oversee industry conduct and consumer protection.
Farage has been a prominent critic of Britain’s biggest banks after the debanking scandal involving NatWest Group’s Coutts private bank, which closed his account in 2023.
After looking into the scandal the FCA ordered UK banks to treat politicians more fairly, but drew fierce criticism from Farage after it said it had found no evidence of customers’ accounts being closed because of their political views.
Reform UK, whose party conference got under way on Friday, has previously promised to sweep away City rules and cut taxes to help bolster the development of the cryptocurrency sector in the UK. It also said it would accept donations in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Crypto companies are heavily involved in the party’s conference at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre Reform UK’s efficiency chief, Zia Yusuf, is hosting a session with Stani Kulechov, the Finnish founder of a company called Aave Labs. The crypto startup Zebec Technologies is a sponsor.
Businesses engaged in gold trading are also exhibitors at the event, including Direction Bullion, which has one of the biggest stands at the conference. Farage was reported last year to be a paid brand ambassador for the company.
