City cull that didn’t happen

CITY lobbyists have drastically slashed the number of financial services jobs they think could be lost because of Brexit.

During the 2016 referendum campaign, industry analysts claimed that as many as 200,000 roles could disappear in a banking meltdown if Britain left the European Union.

But experts at the City of London Corporation now believe that only 5,000 jobs – fewer than one in 200 finance jobs across the country – are at risk and have admitted the mass exodus they once feared has failed to happen.

And since the referendum in June 2016, an extra 14,000 jobs have been added in the industry.

Brexiteers said the massive Uturn showed the forecasts were mere speculation by vested interests. John Longworth, a former director general of the British Chambers of Commerce who is now co-chairman of pressure group Leave Means Leave, said: ‘These figures prove that Project Fear was completely unjustified, and we should be mindful that current warnings will be equally wrong.’

Charles Bowman, Lord Mayor of the City of London, told website Politico that the corporation’s latest job loss predictions range from 5,000 to 13,000 when Britain leaves. This is far lower than previous predictions, with a report by consultant Oliver Wyman warning in 2016 that 75,000 jobs could go. Xavier Rolet, then chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, was even more apocalyptic and claimed that 200,000 were at risk.

Mr Bowman said the City had been boosted by the transition period which means that nothing will change for financial services until 2020. This gives big banks more time to prepare and minimise the need to send staff abroad.