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Roula Khalaf, the editor of FT, selects his favorite story in this week’s newsletter.
Marcus Bokkank, the exiled chairman of the UK’s Competitive Markets Bureau, joined in on questions about changes the government may be planning, saying it was “substantially different” from when it raised it, reciting it, and recorded it in the regulatory authorities. defended.
in The LinkedIn post was published on ThursdayBokkerink, who was forced to resign last month by the government, feared that government agencies are not sufficient to drive growth, saying that “the approach to promoting economic growth, prioritizing the interests of UK consumers and businesses.” He said he is an advocate. .
Bokkerink’s departure from the CMA is part of a broader government push to enforce regulators to make them more serious as the UK seeks to promote business investment in the country. The CMA is at the intersection of complaints from businesses, especially large tech groups, which means being overly interventionist.
In a Bokkerink post, he said: . . This strategy provides positive results prioritized to people, businesses and the economy to further drive further.
“It shows that the government is seeking a different approach to what is set in its plan. . It’s not yet clear what will happen with those different approaches, but of course there are always alternatives.”
The government plans to release the CMA’s “strategic maneuver” in the coming weeks, setting a prioritization for the watchdog. The organization’s top-level change raised questions about how regulators would shift their approach shortly after publishing a draft of their annual plan focused on the next three years.
Bokkerink has been replaced by former UK Amazon Boss Doug Gurr. He said he hopes CMA moves faster and that both mergers and market research should be “as simple and quick as possible.”
CMA changes occur amid overhauls at other watchdogs as governments seek a more troublesome regulatory environment. The head of the UK Financial Ombudsman service unexpectedly stopped on Thursday midway through a major review of the consumer bailout system.
Abby Thomas was under pressure to take a consumer-friendly approach. Those familiar with the matter said they were frustrated among the board of directors of the ombudsman, with their initial dislike of starting a claim with the claims management company to file a lawsuit.
