Bangladesh, Oct. 25 -- When Sir Keir Starmer entered Downing Street in July 2024, many expected the Labour Party to usher in an era of economic pragmatism rooted in fairness – a corrective to the market excesses of Conservative rule. Yet within little more than a year, Starmers government has begun dismantling one of the few remaining institutional barriers between corporate power and ordinary British consumers: the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Once regarded as a bastion of regulatory independence, the CMA has been transformed into an instrument of the governments pro-business agenda. Under the banner of “growth,” Labour has aligned itself with the interests of Big Tech, finance, and private equity – o...