To celebrate the launch of Positive Money’s new report, ‘The Power of Big Finance: How to reclaim our democracy from the banking lobby’, we’re hosting an event live from Parliament! Come along to our free webinar on Tuesday 7th June at 10:00am for a panel discussion and audience Q&A – you can join on Zoom or watch Positive Money’s Facebook Livestream.

• David Barmes, lead author of The Power of Big Finance, who will introduce the report
• Bim Afolami, Conservative MP for Hitchin & Harpenden, and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Financial Markets and Services
• Alison Thewliss, SNP MP for Glasgow Central, and SNP Treasury spokesperson
• Clive Lewis, Labour MP for Norwich South
• Baroness Susan Kramer, Liberal Democrats spokesperson for Treasury and Economy in the House of Lords
• Grace Blakeley, writer for Tribune Magazine and a regular commentator on economics and politics in the media
• Fran Boait, Executive Director of Positive Money (Chair)

Background

No matter who we are or where we’re from, we all deserve an equal voice and an equal say in our democracy. But for too long, bankers, big corporations and their lobbyists have rigged the system in their favour. This new report from Positive Money exposes the extent to which bank lobbyists and powerful financial firms are able to exert unparalleled influence over government policy, through a number of different channels.

The result is an unbalanced and unequal economy: money is being sucked up to big banks in the City of London at the expense of communities throughout the rest of the country. We’ve seen decades of policymaking that has prized the growing wealth of big financial firms in the City of London over all other regions of the country and sectors of the economy.

If we are to genuinely ‘level up’ the whole of the UK and help communities everywhere to thrive, we need to ensure that the voice of the banking lobby does not overpower all others. With the UK’s framework for financial regulation currently being rewritten post-Brexit, this launch event will explore how we can ensure this opportunity is used to benefit the whole of society, rather than just the vested interests of the CIty of London.

At this in-person and online event, lead author David Barmes will introduce Positive Money’s report, with responses from a panel of speakers, including Conservative MP and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Financial Markets and Services, Bim Afolami, Alison Thewliss, SNP MP for Glasgow Central, and spokesperson for the Treasury. The panel will be chaired by Positive Money’s Executive Director Fran Boait.

Please register now and you’ll receive an email with the link to watch the launch via Zoom or Facebook. You’ll be able to submit your questions for the panel once you register. If you can make it to the event in-person, we’d love for you to join us – please register for your free ticket here.