Angela Rayner’s resignation as Deputy Prime Minister, Labour Deputy leader and Housing Secretary has prompted a lot of debate among advisers some angry, a very few in her defence to a degree or at least making comparisons with other politicians’ behaviour.
Even the generally Labour supporting Guardian describes a huge crisis for the Prime Minister from the deputy Prime Minister’s departure suggesting it has deeply damaged Labour.
The Telegraph opinion suggests that Keir Starmer is taking a huge gamble with a rightward move on immigration and welfare as it judges the reshuffle. An intriguing view.
But in this review, we’re going to stick to a few implications for advisers. I am going to reference something I wrote first on Octo Members – summing up adviser sentiment urging clients to get all their professional advice lined up – mortgage, financial, legal and accounting tax. Advisers, can, I think play an important coordinating role although it is important to understand where the gaps in knowledge are as well.
There is a new housing secretary Steven Reed, who moves from Agriculture, having previoiusly held the shadow role and serving as leader of Lambeth Council – not a bad CV. The housing minister Matthew Pennycook stays put.
As Mortgage Strategy reports Reed’s key task will be to oversee the most ambitious housebuilding programme in the UK since the 1970s.
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill, introduced by his new department and making its way through parliament, will be central to that.
The reshuffle also saw the departure of Liz Kendall from government to be replaced as Work and Pensions secretary by Pat McFadden, widely seen as a clever government fixer and architect of the election win.
Pensions Age also notes that there has been no official change to pension minister Torsten Bell’s role, which has a dual reporting line to the Department for Work and Pensions and the Treasury. This is despite reports that he has been given an influential role in the Treasury in the build-up to the Budget speech.
Right enough politics!
Writing in FTAdviser, Claire Cherrington, director of PMS and Bankhall at Sesame Bankhall Group argues that there is an unfair imbalance between buyers and sellers of advice businesses in favour of the buyers.
She adds: “Through our own consultancy with business owners looking to sell their advice firms, we have seen that good seller-side models should focus on four things: discovery, preparation, buyer matching and execution.”
Forvis Mazars is not yet sold on private markets reports Citywire New Model Adviser.
CIO Ben Seager-Scott said the business is circling private markets and alternatives, but not committing.
Wealth manager Evelyn Partners is to kick off its sales process next month, according to Financial News.
