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The Lord Mayor of London has affirmed that Jersey and the City will remain the “best of friends” throughout Brexit negotiations and that the UK will not allow the Channel Islands’ interests to get side-lined during the withdrawal process.
A key representative of the UK’s financial sector, Dr Lord Mayor Andrew Parmley, who presides over the City of London, made assurances that he would take steps to, “…assist Jersey to maintain its excellent position on the world stage” ahead of meetings with the Chief Minister, Bailiff, Minister for External Relations and senior finance industry representatives next week.
He told Express that the meetings would present an opportunity to hear gauge the mood of the Island’s finance industry, which acts as a conduit for half a trillion of investment into the UK and supports around 250,000 British jobs, over the impact of Brexit and, “…reiterate the UK’s support for Jersey in securing a very good post-Brexit deal.”
“Part of the reason for the trip is to hear exactly what the concerns are, to reassure where I can, and to take away questions that I can’t answer and come back with the answers as quickly as possible. The Financial services sector is hugely important for the nation – even for people that don’t realise that it’s hugely important – and Jersey is a part of that structure. It’s very important to me.” he commented.
“You’ve managed a delicate relationship with us, and I think that’s very important – we are still the best of friends, and your economy and prosperity are a beacon to us all.”
Pictured: The Lord Mayor will be meeting with finance sector representatives to conduct a 'health check' on the industry post-Brexit.
Dr Parmley, who will serve a one-year term as Square Mile ambassador, arguably couldn’t have joined at a more turbulent time, but says he is “relentlessly optimistic” about the future for both Jersey and the City of London in a Brexit context, despite the fact that the city officially endorsed the ‘Remain’ – an extremely rare political move for the City.
“We thought that was what the majority of our businesses wanted so that’s the way we campaigned. In the end, we were on the wrong side of the decision. That said, we are now looking at this very positively, we have been canvassing opinions from businesses throughout the Square Mile, we’ve reported what we’ve found faithfully to Parliament, and we understand what we are particularly asking for has been reflected in the negotiation standards adopted by Theresa May.
“So I think we’re heading for a great future, although of course there’s an element of the unknown and people, of course, don’t like uncertainty ever.”
He made assurances that the Prime Minister was informed “loud and clear” of the City’s intention to incorporate financial services ‘passporting’ assurances into Mrs May’s “bespoke deal” (“we don’t talk about ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ Brexit”), and access to talent from other countries.
Pictured: Dr Parmley told Express that he had sought assurances from Prime Minister Theresa May (above) on the single market, passporting, and access to talent.
“London is a magnet for talented people and has always been a melting pot for people of the world, and we need to ensure that that continues. The waves of immigrants that have come to London over many many centuries have enhanced and enriched the nature of what we do, and indeed enabled us to open up markets in different parts of the world, so we are very keen to ensure the safety and rights of British people on mainland Europe, and indeed of European people working here in the City of London and across the UK.”
Continued access to the single market also remains a priority: “As I often say, London is a global trader, however, our biggest trading partner is on our doorstep at 500 million people so we need to have access to that market place.”
As Jersey enjoys some EU business benefits by virtue of its connection to the UK, a better deal for Britain will undoubtedly be a better one for the Island. But a worse one will have knock-on effects too.
Despite Brexit’s potential challenges, Dr Parmley praised Jersey for remaining a “safe and attractive” place to do business and for its “high levels of financial literacy”.
Schooled in Blackpool, the Lord Mayor added that he was impressed by the Island’s ability to reinvent the economy following the tourism downturn:
“I’m quietly envious of the great success of the economy on the Island. It’s a small Island, but it’s a hugely important place. The economy plays out on the world stage. I’m from a place in the North of England called Blackpool, which you’re probably familiar with, and Blackpool suffered in the same way as the Island did in that when cheaper holidays became available in warmer climates: people disappeared.
“The difference is that Blackpool continued on a downward trajectory, whereas the Island took this as an opportunity to reincentivise the financial services industry and create an industry that’s worth 42% of the total economic activity on the Island. I think that’s an excellent thing.”
Pictured: The Lord Mayor said he was "quietly envious" of Jersey's ability to reinvent itself in the wake of the tourism decline, unlike Blackpool.
Brexit aside, Dr Parmley would like to see financial services working together to combat the threat of cyber crime – something which sees attacks target the States of Jersey alone 500 times daily – and sharing best practice for a stronger, more protected sector.
“At the top end of the issue for me, because criminals will always be slightly ahead of people who play by the rules and therefore we are always going to be somewhat reactive rather than proactive, it’s important to me that this becomes a matter of chairmen and boards of companies. It’s not simply a matter for the security officers, and I think it should be reported in annual reports what sort of hits have been taken.
“The more that businesses can share the information that they have about their own attacks, the better. We need a great deal more transparency in this respect.”
Whether on cybercrime, leaving the EU or business deals, the Lord Mayor said he looks forward to working with the “great partner” of Jersey as “equals”.
“I’ll be there full of praise for the Jersey people, wishing to reassure them that we’re not in any way turning our backs on the Island, they are very very important to us and our economy.”
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