By: Christian May

Editor-in-Chief Christian May is the Editor-in-Chief of City AM. He served in the role from 2015 to 2020 and returned in 2024. He writes the daily Editor's Letter for print and online and releases The Week in Business roundup video each Thursday. He is particularly interested in the health of London's capital markets, economic policy, politics, regulation and business activity in the City of London. He regularly appears in the broadcast media and presents a daily Business News slot on LBC at 0730, Monday to Friday. Find Christian on X and LinkedIn.

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Pension industry 1-0 Torsten Bell

Investing

We should be grateful that the absurd idea of a government-imposed cap on rent died less than 24 hours after it first reared its head, but another madcap Treasury scheme took far longer to bite the dust. The government’s Pensions Schemes Act (which passed into law yesterday) contained plenty of sensible and interesting measures, including [...]
Rent controls: The left hand doesn’t know what the far-left hand is doing

Economics

For just under 24 hours the residential landlord sector was seized by panic following reports that first appeared on Monday night that the Chancellor was preparing to impose a ‘temporary’ ban on rent increases. The policy of rent controls was hitherto the preserve of the Green Party and Labour’s loony left, but then came reports [...]
King’s Cross puts London on the AI map

AI

A description of King’s Cross a little over 20 years ago sounds like something from a Dickens novel. It was “a place of decay, dereliction, crime and filth” – known for drugs and prostitution. Some readers may remember its rave scene but for most people it was a no-go area. That opening description comes from [...]

Watch: Sluggish economy puts Brits at their gloomiest for nearly 50 years

April 23, 2026

City AM‘s Editor, Christian May, reflects on recent polling that reveals Brits’ economic pessimism has reached depths not seen since 1978. From high taxes to sticky inflation and low growth, there is a strong sense that the country simply isn’t heading in the right direction.
Back to the 1970s: Brits know the damage being done to our economy

April 23, 2026

By late 1978 Britain was in the grip of what became known as the Winter of Discontent. Waves of strike action caused huge economic and social disruption as rubbish piled up on the streets and bodies went unburied. It was a crisis for the Labour government and a low point in Britain’s recent history. It [...]
Starmer won’t recover from the toxic Mandelson scandal

April 22, 2026

Think back to the election campaign of 2024 and you’ll recall that Sir Keir Starmer’s pitch for power wasn’t based on very much. His offer to the electorate was built almost entirely on the well-worn ‘time for change’ argument that opposition politicians across the world cling to when the incumbent has clearly run out of [...]
Workers’ rights laws couldn’t come at a worse time for businesses

April 8, 2026

The government’s Employment Rights agenda is becoming a reality, and the timing could scarcely be worse. As the first provisions of the Employment Rights Act come into force, Britain’s economic outlook is darkening rapidly. Growth is faltering under the weight of an energy shock, inflation is stirring again and businesses are staring down a period [...]
The madness of a state that spends more on welfare than it raises from income tax

April 7, 2026

If it were possible to buy Happy New Tax Year cards you’d surely find them stocked in the ‘With Sympathy’ section. As of yesterday, the state has increased its demands on a host of taxpayers. Dividend tax is up two per cent for basic and higher rate taxpayers, with the latter now hit by a [...]
Once again Starmer addresses the nation – with nothing to say

April 2, 2026

The Prime Minister held a press conference yesterday to update us all on the Iran war and to confirm that we’re still not in it. That’s Keir Starmer’s most valued line these days; that this isn’t our war and we’re not involved. However, despite our declared neutrality, Starmer had to concede that “the impact of [...]
Reeves must listen to supermarkets rather than lecture them

April 1, 2026

Supermarkets begin preparing for Christmas at least six months before the anticipated peak of customer demand hits around December 23. Catering for this entirely predictable surge is in itself an astonishing commercial and logistical feat, but a little over six years ago the UK’s supermarkets were in the midst of an unprecedented challenge. As pandemic [...]

UK at ‘greatest risk’ of jet fuel shortage as flights to be cancelled

Why Sunderland’s away kit legal row is a warning to all sports

What’s on in London in May

By: Christian May

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