Antitrust Alert #6
This week, the UK government announced that the Chair of the Competition and Markets Authority will be removed from his post early, having been in post since 2022.
The new Labour government has made economic growth its number one priority and, in the face of weak economic data and largely negative feedback from the business community on its first budget, the government has in recent weeks turned its focus to the role that regulators can play in promoting growth and investment. The CMA in particular has been in the spotlight following its handling of the 2023 Microsoft/Activision Blizzard transaction, where it was largely seen as being out of step with EU and US regulators.
Now, this announcement, timed to coincide with the Chancellor's visit to the World Economic Forum, is intended to convey to the business community that the government has listened to investor concerns about the premium attached to doing business with the UK, and is moving at pace to deliver on the economic growth it has promised. Indeed, the announcement on Bokkerink's departure specifically cites the need for regulators to "tear down the barriers hindering business and refocus their efforts on promoting growth".
Interestingly, his interim replacement is the former Country Manager of Amazon UK and President of Amazon China. This will attract some controversy given the CMA's interest in Amazon's activities, particularly having just been handed significant new powers over digital markets from 1 January through the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.
A final point to note is the incoming draft Strategic Steer, soon to be published for consultation by the Department for Business and Trade. That will set out a far more muscular set of expectations on the CMA around being pro-enterprise and ultimately pro-growth.
Taken together, the close interest the government is taking in how the CMA goes about its work - from the dismissal of Bokkerink to the new Strategic Steer - signals the government's expectations of regulators generally. While nominally independent, the ability to make appointments like this (and a new Panel Chair is also due this year) demonstrates the government's influence. The expectation is now without a doubt that any mergers or markets work must be viewed through the lens of pro-growth sentiment, and the business community's engagement should be reflective of that.
This article is part of a series examining Antitrust across the globe. Read the previous editions here:
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