Labour dithers over NatWest share sale plan

Labour has refused to commit to the NatWest share sale, saying it will ‘review the details’ if the party wins the General Election.

In a blow to the bank and ordinary investors, the sale that was planned for later this summer has been put on ice until after the vote on July 4.

It would have been the largest sell-off to the public since Royal Mail listed on the stock exchange in 2013.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had lined up M&C Saatchi to launch a 1980s-style ‘Tell Sid’ advertising campaign to boost investment in London’s stock market.

But it will now be for the next Government to decide whether to revive the sale.

Delayed: The sale of the Government’s remaining stake in Nat West has been put on ice until after the vote on July 4

A Labour Party spokesman said: ‘Labour will review the details if we form the next government after the General Election. 

Any decisions we take will be about ensuring value for money for the taxpayer and investors.’ 

The Government still owns a 27 per cent stake in NatWest after bailing out the lender during the 2008 financial crisis. At its peak, taxpayers owned 84 per cent of the bank.

Hunt unveiled plans to sell the Government’s stake to retail investors in the Spring Budget.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown, said: ‘Schemes like this have the power to encourage new investors, so it’s hoped this will be revisited by whoever wins the election.’

Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at broker AJ Bell, said that it is ‘vital’ that Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves push ahead with the plan. 

Abandoning the sale is ‘a missed opportunity to encourage more people to develop a long-term saving and investment habit,’ he added.

Meanwhile, Will Howlett, financials analyst at wealth manager Quilter Cheviot, said that although Labour has a history of public ownership, ‘it is likely to want to get the shares off the public books at some point soon’.

‘Indeed, it would be symbolic for a new Labour government to sell the shares, given NatWest was effectively put under government control by the previous Labour administration,’ he said.

However, he added: ‘It could be that Labour simply just continues the existing trading plan in the short-term and thus keep all its options open until it has fully assessed the holding and is in position to make actual decisions.’

NatWest shares yesterday rose 0.6 per cent, or 1.9p, to 309.4p.