The big growth reset in UK competition law: perception is everything

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is enduring one of the most turbulent periods of its decade-long history, following the politically charged departure of its former Chairman, Marcus Bokkerink, in January 2025. Having been issued a government steer to support economic growth and investment, the CMA has proceeded to consult on a series of guidance updates and procedural reforms, forged under a new ‘4Ps’ mantra, focused on pace, predictability, proportionality, and process. This presentation considers the emergence of the growth agenda under UK competition law and, in particular, efforts by the government to regain control of the growth discourse by capitalising on the CMA’s (largely ill-founded) reputation as an overzealous enforcer of international renown. It suggests that the government’s intervention in the leadership and strategic vision of the CMA likely coincided with a reimagining of the 4Ps as a fully-fledged enforcement framework, prompting the CMA to accelerate its pre-existing efforts to nurture a more business-friendly approach to its mergers and markets regime. Having exaggerated Bokkerink’s role at the helm of an oft-regarded bureaucratic authority, his removal enabled the government to send a clear message to the international investment community that the UK is “open for business”.