Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive of JP Morgan Chase, has warned that the bank could scrap plans for a £3 billion (€3.47 billion) headquarters in London’s Canary Wharf if Keir Starmer is replaced by a Labour prime minister deemed “hostile to banks”.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg TV yesterday during the bank’s Global Markets Conference in Paris, Dimon drew a clear distinction between political instability and policy risk.
“Not political instability, but if they become hostile to banks again, yes,” he said.
He added: “I’ve always objected to the fact … we didn’t damage the UK in any way, we paid probably $10 billion [€8.54 billion] in extra taxes by now. I don’t think that’s right or fair. If that happens too much we will reconsider.”
The proposed skyscraper, which would span about three million square feet and house more than half of JP Morgan’s 23,000 UK staff, was announced last November shortly after Chancellor Rachel Reeves spared the banking sector from fresh tax rises in the Autumn Budget.
The project is expected to inject £10 billion (€11.55 billion) into the local economy and support 7,800 construction jobs. The bank has repeatedly stressed that the investment is conditional on a “continuing positive business environment in the UK”.
Dimon, who has previously described Starmer as a “very smart guy” and offered qualified praise for the government’s approach to inherited fiscal challenges, nevertheless cautioned against any leftward shift aimed at regaining ground lost to Reform UK and the Greens in May 7’s local elections.
Potential successors such as Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham have been associated with calls for higher taxation and spending.
The intervention comes as Labour faces its most acute leadership crisis since taking power. More than 80 MPs and several ministers have called for the PM to resign or set a timetable to step down following heavy losses in the local and devolved elections.
COMMENT: The world misses British political wisdom. A feeble and waffling Europe misses it, and a resurgent America, astounded at Britain’s treatment of it, is close to washing its hands of the British relationship, writes @ConradMBlack. https://t.co/H5VyeSvT8S
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) May 13, 2026
The banking sector is not the only industry voicing investment unease.
Energy producers have accused Labour of stalling North Sea oil and gas developments, with one major project — the Buchan field — reportedly delayed, potentially putting 100 million barrels of recoverable oil at risk and threatening billions in investment before 2030.
Industry sources point to the government’s refusal to issue new exploration licences, the extension of the energy profits levy and broader regulatory uncertainty as factors creating a de facto “hiatus” in long-term capital spending.
AO.com founder John Robert also was highly critical of the current British political situation, calling for Starmer to resign and saying that Britain was “broken”, partially due to policies such as net-zero and overregulation.
JP Morgan’s own research team has separately warned clients that UK banks now face a rising tax risk, shifting its base case to assume the banking surcharge will increase from 3 per cent to 5 per cent under a more left-leaning leadership.
The broker estimates this would trim 2027 earnings per share by up to 3 per cent for Lloyds, 2 per cent for NatWest and 1 per cent for Barclays.
The comments have amplified existing market jitters. UK gilt yields have climbed sharply in recent sessions, with 30-year borrowing costs reaching levels not seen in nearly three decades amid fears of looser fiscal rules. Domestic bank shares have also come under pressure.
Dimon’s remarks echo the 2022 Conservative then-prime minister Liz Truss “mini-budget” episode, when abrupt policy shifts triggered a bond-market rout. Truss lasted for 49 days as prime minister before resigning.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is fighting for his political life over an unrelenting scandal related to the appointment of ex-Jeffrey Epstein associate Peter Mandelson as British ambassador to Washington. https://t.co/ygj7bkMa5t
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) April 23, 2026
