The Edinburgh and Leeds Reforms: a progress report

This paper reviews three years of progress on the 31-point Edinburgh Reforms, and six months of progress on the more recent Leeds Reforms package. The Edinburgh Reforms are a broad collection of measures launched by the previous government in December 2022 to reshape the UK’s post-Brexit regulatory framework. Last year’s Leeds Reforms, announced in the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech in July 2025, aim to deliver the government’s Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy and support its mission of ‘regulating for growth’.

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New Financial members, governments and regulators, can also access our complete research archive including this report here Together, the Edinburgh and Leeds Reforms sit at the centre of the UK’s financial services reform agenda and reflect successive efforts by different governments to recalibrate the regulatory framework for banking and finance in pursuit of growth and competitiveness, while maintaining the core objectives of financial stability, consumer protection, and international credibility.

There are three parts to this paper:

• Our progress report of the Edinburgh Reforms, outlining the work that has been delivered over the past three years;

• Our initial assessment of the Leeds Reforms and their implementation since their announcement last year;

• A detailed appendix summarising activity and progress across both reform packages.

Summary

Here is a short five-point summary of this progress report:

• A sensible package: the Edinburgh Reforms represented a largely sensible package of measures designed to reshape the post-Brexit framework and signalled a shift away from the ‘Big Bang 2.0’ rhetoric of the Truss government. Although announced by a Conservative government, implementation has continued under Labour since the 2024 general election.

  
  

• Three years of progress: the government has now done what it said it would do for all 31 measures included in the Edinburgh package. Around half (15) have been fully implemented, and of the remainder, five are set to be implemented this year and another five in 2027.

  
  

• A new focus: the Leeds Reforms represent the new government’s attempt to implement its Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy and centre around a mission to ‘regulate for growth’ and reduce the administrative burden of regulation.

  
  

• Re-packaged priorities? While announced and presented as a new package, a third of the Leeds measures revisit areas previously addressed by the Edinburgh Reforms, reflecting a continuation in policy themes but with a shift in emphasis and approach.

  
  

• Right direction, but…: progress on the Leeds Reforms so far has been solid and the focus broadly positive. However, with several measures already implemented, wider government reforms outside of the financial services sector (such as on employment rights or tax) could undermine the positive impact for the sector that the Leeds measures might deliver.