Work

London’s stock exchange ten years after Brexit: from regulatory divergence to multi-channel geopolitics?

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Brexit was widely anticipated to pose significant risks to the continued dominance of London as an international financial centre. However, unlike in some other economic sectors, notably automotive, the economic impacts of Brexit on UK financial services have been less severe than was commonly expected. In this paper, we caution against complacency in response to this by arguing that in many ways, the geopolitical implications of Brexit for financial services are proving to be more significant than expected. Using the London Stock Exchange as our central empirical focus we suggest that state regulation and policy changes are where the most significant Brexit impacts on finance have been felt. Drawing on wider research at the intersection of geopolitics and geoeconomics, we identify three channels of state regulation and policy response to Brexit that will be important in shaping UK-EU financial services relations as the Brexit process continues to evolve in the next ten years.

Source: Contemporary Social Science

DOI: 10.1080/21582041.2026.2725729

Authors: Sarah Hall, Martin Heneghan

Institutions: University of Cambridge, University of Nottingham

Language: English

Topic: Global Financial Regulation and Crises

Subfield: Finance

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: Economic and Social Research Council

Awards: Levelling up? Implications and impacts of changing geopolitical landscapes for the UK's economic geography, Financial services in a changing Europe: Brexit and financial centres across the UK