Johnson ‘must win over the City if he becomes new PM’
BORIS JOHNSON must rebuild trust with the City of London if he becomes the next prime minister on Wednesday, its political leader has warned.
Catherine McGuinness, who chairs the corporation’s policy and resources committee, also called on Mr Johnson to be more pragmatic about the impact a no-deal Brexit will have on the entire economy.
She said: “Boris will have bridges to build with business.
“I believe from our experience in the past that, actually, he is quite business-minded, but we need to see that in practice after what he said.
“I think warm words are not enough.
“We really are at a critical moment for our economy, for our country.
“We, absolutely, will try to be as positive as possible about what we can build on.
“We need to build on those strengths for the future and we’re ready to do that with Boris but he needs to be practical and pragmatic.”
The City of London is the local authority responsible for the Square Mile which includes the Bank of England, the London Stock Exchange and some of the biggest financial institutions in the country.
It is in a unique position because the vast majority of its constituents are businesses rather than residents. The taxes generated in the City are about £75billion a year but, since the financial crisis of 2008, bankers have been roundly criticised for excessive bonuses and being too far removed from the everyday struggles of ordinary citizens.
Ms McGuinness admitted that more needed to be done to improve the image of the City.
She said: “People see the temples of Mammon and don’t see what it’s doing for the actual economy.
“That is a challenge. And it’s a challenge we ask ourselves daily.
“We keep telling people how much [the tax take from the City] would cover the NHS but that doesn’t quite bring home to people what it means for their daily lives.
“You can visualise a fisherman and you can visualise goods being trundled across the border. “It’s much more difficult to see the good that’s been done for our economy from, for example, a lawyer who’s given advice overseas that’s generating an income which he or she is then spending in our economy.”
It is feared the City of London Corporation may find this even more challenging as the gulf between the capital and the rest of the country continues to widen.