UK citizens had the worst representation ratio in the EU Parliament, with one MEP per 915,500 people – compared to smaller nations like Malta who had one MEP per 84,000. With powers returned to the UK our citizens have ten-times the representation in decisions and law-making.
The UK’s move away from rigid EU one-size-fits-all position limits and allowing market participants to hold larger positions where appropriate, liquidity in UK markets improves, resulting in deeper, more resilient markets with better price discovery.
Now outside the EU, the UK has been able to remove the cap on bankers bonuses introduced, despite British opposition, in 2014 – allowing London to yet again be competitive on the world stage for the best and brightest talent in the sector.
Leaving the EU allowed the UK to increase the spending limits on contactless payments during the Covid pandemic, allowing customers to be processed with a reduced risk of infection – and more quickly and easily thereafter.
The EU’s ‘Dark Pool caps’ suspended such trades above a fixed level. The FCA stopped applying Volume Caps to UK equities in Dec 2020 and then to all equities traded in the UK in March 2021. This was formalised in the Financial Services Bill in July 2022.
