‘It’s a mild positive’: Markets greet prospect of Labour victory with calm

Financial indexes barely flickered as the election was announced, suggesting Starmer’s move to woo the City has been a success

Five years ago, the prospect of a landslide Labour election victory might have been expected to prompt at least some anxiety in financial markets. In a sign of how successful Keir Starmer’s campaign to woo the City and move his party’s position to the centre has been, markets barely budged in response to news the vote would be held this summer.

The FTSE 100 opened flat on Thursday, the pound pushed slightly higher and stock futures a touch lower as markets appeared relaxed about the likelihood of a Starmer win, having had more than a year of reading about 15-point-plus poll leads to get used to the idea.