Jamie Dimon says JP Morgan may rethink London office if Starmer ousted

JP Morgan may reconsider a planned multibillion-dollar office tower in London if U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is ousted, the bank’s CEO Jamie Dimon said on Wednesday.

Speaking to Bloomberg in Paris, the head of America’s biggest bank said that while a change in leadership would not change JP Morgan’s fundamental strategy, it could force the lender to rethink its future in the U.K. capital.

JP Morgan announced late last year that it would build a new three-million square foot tower in London’s Canary Wharf financial district to house up to 12,000 employees and serve as its U.K. headquarters. Construction is expected to take six years, during which time JP Morgan will also renovate its existing building on London’s Bank Street.

At the time of the announcement, JP Morgan said its plans for the new building were “subject to a continuing positive business environment in the U.K. and the receipt of the necessary approvals and agreements at a national and local level.”

Asked on Tuesday if the political instability gripping Britain changed his view on the mega project in London, Dimon responded that if a new government was “hostile to the banks, then yes.”

Dimon criticized the tax burden that the bank already faces in the U.K., telling Bloomberg JP Morgan had already paid $10 billion in “additional taxes” related to the construction project.

JP Morgan currently employs more than 20,000 people in the U.K., 13,000 of whom are based in London. The bank said in November that its construction and office upgrade projects would contribute an estimated £9.9 billion ($13.4 billion) to the U.K. economy and create more than 7,800 jobs in the coming six years. Its existing operations in London are estimated to contribute £7.5 billion a year to the local economy.

Starmer’s leadership is hanging in the balance, after his party’s poor performance in the U.K.’s local elections last week led to widespread demands from lawmakers for his resignation. As of Tuesday morning, 90 members of parliament from the governing Labour Party have called on the prime minister to step down, while more than 100 signed a statement backing Starmer to stay put.

A backlash against Starmer’s Labour Party saw huge gains for the right-wing Reform UK and the left-wing Green Party in last week’s poll.

But bond vigilantes have largely been supportive of Starmer and his finance minister Rachel Reeves retaining their positions relative to potential alternatives, with U.K. bonds — known as gilts — selling off in previous bouts of uncertainty over their political futures.

On Tuesday, gilts sold off across the curve…