Fifty years after Thatcher took charge, the City of London faces a crisis of confidence and capital— and only bold, radical reform in her spirit can revive its global standing, says Tim Focas

Hard to believe, but it is 50 years since Margaret Thatcher took the helm of the Conservative Party. Though her tenure as leader of the opposition began with more friction than fanfare, the economic revolution she later engineered left an indelible mark on the UK. Nowhere more so than in the City of London.

The “Big Bang” deregulation of 1986, often hailed as her most transformative economic policy, turned the Square Mile into a global financial powerhouse. Back then, Thatcher understood that confidence, competitiveness and capital don’t materialise from ministerial soundbites. They respond to radical structural change.

Half a century on, the City again finds itself at a........

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