Those of us who have regulators’ email alerts switched on were familiar with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as an active regulator, but that didn’t align with the Labour government’s agenda.

The CMA is the UK’s main competition and consumer protection authority, wearing several hats, including investigating mergers and taking action to protect consumers from unfair trading practices.

Since its establishment in 2014, the CMA has developed a reputation as an aggressive and proactive regulator, particularly in recent years due to its post-Brexit independence.

The body launched several probes into US tech giants. In 2022, it launched a consumer protection investigation into Facebook (now Meta) over concerns that it was using data from other businesses to unfairly compete with them.

The following year, the body launched an investigation into the house building sector amid concerns that developers were not delivering homes at an adequate pace or scale.

The body handed out hefty fines to big businesses. For competition law breaches, pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Flynn Pharma were fined £70m in 2022, a fine that is currently under appeal.

While for procedural breaches, Facebook was handed a £50.5m in 2021, for failing to comply with an Initial Enforcement Order during its acquisition of Giphy

However, the British body found itself in the spotlight in 2023 after it blocked Microsoft’s $70bn bid for the video game publisher, Activision Blizzard. Speaking at the time, Microsoft’s President Brad Smith described the move as “bad for Britain”, while Activision said “the UK is clearly closed for business”.

The CMA’s then Chair Marcus Bokkerink, while grilled by MPs, defended the decision by saying “it’s our duty to be vigilant”. The CMA eventually granted the merger in October 2023.

The CMA’s actions made businesses more cautious about pursuing mergers and kept lawyers occupied, both advising clients and litigating challenges and follow-on cases before the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).

Political landscape whiplash

Months after Labour was elected into power, it was reported that Prime Minister Keir Starmer was urging the CMA to do more to prioritise economic growth in its ‘pro-business’ push.

In January of this year, Starmer, writing for The Times, vowed to deregulate Britain and cut through “thickets of red tape” in a promise to boost growth.

And by the end of that month, news broke that Bokkerink had been sacked as chairman of the CMA. His shocking departure was described as the “most overtly political” regulatory intervention of recent years.

While lawyers at the time said the move sent “a clear message” to regulators that the government wants to reduce regulatory barriers to investment.

Former Amazon executive Doug Gurr was appointed as the new chair.

The government said its number one priority is economic growth and stated that the CMA has a key role to play in supporting that, including promoting dynamic markets and supporting productivity and innovation.