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(Bloomberg) — Rachel Reeves heads to what’s likely to be her last City of London event next week, a final opportunity to defend her legacy after almost exactly two years as the UK’s first woman Chancellor of the Exchequer.
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Speaking on Tuesday at the Mansion House dinner, a high-profile event attended by the city’s top financiers, Britain’s finance minister is set to announce plans for greater use of AI in financial services. Her speech will also spell out the economic achievements of Keir Starmer’s outgoing government, including increased investment and jobs.
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The outing is likely to be among Reeves’ last as chancellor. Former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is poised to succeed Starmer as prime minister on July 20 and is widely expected to replace her. Speculation is rife about who will fill the job that will be central to his agenda and the economic challenges the country faces, with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and former Health Secretary Wes Streeting both seen as being in the mix.
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Senior figures in the City had hoped that the dinner, which is hosted by the City of London Corporation, would be delayed to give them a chance to hear from the incoming chancellor.
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Rachel Blake, who was appointed Economic Secretary to the Treasury — also known as City Minister — by Starmer just nine weeks ago, told Bloomberg that Reeves would use the speech to make clear how financial services growth and competitiveness fit into the government’s wider industrial strategy.
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“We will be talking about what we said we would do, what we have done and the impact it has had on our economic foundations and then reflecting further forward,” Blake said.
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Reeves is due to announce a “Financial Services AI Adoption Plan” based on the findings of two banking industry figures appointed in January to look at opportunities and challenges relating to greater use of AI in banking, insurance and asset management. Their full recommendations are due to be released on Tuesday ahead of the chancellor’s speech.
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Issues that they have grappled with include the appropriate use by UK-regulated firms of large language models owned by US companies, how to source enough talent and skills, and consumer protection in areas such as agentic commerce, which uses AI agents to search for the best deals.
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Reeves will also outline plans to increase support for small businesses across the UK. This includes £500 million ($670 million) for SMEs that are “rich with innovative intellectual property,” including AI firms, according to a Treasury press release. There will also be an expansion of a British Business Bank programme which provides a 70% government guarantee on some commercial loans to small businesses, to make more firms eligible for funding.
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