The boss of the UK’s competition watchdog has insisted there is no additional risk of consumer harm from the government’s bid to put regulators on a growth footing, despite her former chair being ousted for not buying into the push.

Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) boss Sarah Cardell said she saw “no tension” between her organisation diligently policing fair markets while also meeting the government’s challenge for regulators to promote economic growth, and felt the two worked hand in hand.

“If we think about our statutory mandate at the CMA, it’s about promoting competition and protecting consumers, and both of those things are foundational to driving economic growth,” she told MPs at the Business and Trade Committee.

“We know that open, dynamic, competitive markets will deliver greater levels of investment, innovation [and] should deliver greater productivity.”

Cardell made her comments amid a period of major upheaval at the UK’s largest regulators, as they respond to the Labour government’s desire for watchdog bosses to remove unnecessary hurdles to economic growth.

Regulating for growth?

On Christmas Eve, Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds wrote to the chief executives of more than 10 regulators – including the CMA – demanding they propose ways to aid his administration’s growth mission.

But the UK’s antitrust regulator has found itself especially in the government’s crosshairs, and has been singled out as one of watchdogs with the most work to do to meet government demands.