City minister seeks to calm fears over job moves to EU after Brexit

City minister seeks to calm fears over job moves to EU after Brexit

Britain’s City minister has agreed with estimates that about 7,000 jobs moved from the Square Mile to the EU after Brexit, but added that the financial services sector “has not experienced the haemorrhaging” of roles that many had anticipated.

John Glen, economic secretary to the Treasury and City minister, said on Tuesday that he broadly accepted calculations by consultancy group EY that thousands of financial services jobs had been transferred from the British capital to rival European cities due to the UK leaving the bloc.

Speaking before the House of Lords European affairs committee, which is holding an inquiry into the UK-EU relationship in financial services, he added that the figures were similar to those used by the government and Bank of England.

Initial estimates from EY had put job moves much higher, at 7,500 in October 2020, and a prediction of 12,500 in 2016.

“I broadly accept the 7,000 figure . . . [But] we’ve got to remember there are 2.3mn jobs in the financial and professional services sector,” said the minister.

Glen described this number as a “modest movement of people to the EU”, adding that the financial services sector was in “good shape” given the overall growth in jobs in the Square Mile over the past