Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, during an interview with Reuters in Detroit, Michigan, United States, November 5, 2025.
Emily Elconin | Reuters
JPMorgan Chase could reconsider a multibillion-dollar London office tower project if British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is ousted, the bank’s CEO, Jamie Dimonsaid Wednesday.
Speaking to Bloomberg in Paris, the head of the largest U.S. bank by assets said that while a change in leadership would not alter JPMorgan’s fundamental strategy, it could force the bank to rethink its future in the British capital.
JPMorgan announced late last year that it would build a new 3 million square foot tower in London’s Canary Wharf financial district, to house up to 12,000 employees and serve as its UK headquarters. Construction is expected to take six years, during which time JPMorgan will also renovate its existing building on Bank Street in London.
JPMorgan headquarters in London’s Canary Wharf financial district on February 6, 2024.
Mike Kemp | In pictures | Getty Images
At the time of the announcement, JPMorgan said its plans for the new building were “subject to a continued positive UK business environment and obtaining the necessary national and local approvals and agreements”.
Asked on Tuesday whether political instability in Britain had changed his mind about London’s megaproject, Dimon said if a new government was “unfriendly to banks, then yes.”
Dimon criticized the tax burden the bank already faces in the U.K., telling Bloomberg that JPMorgan had already paid $10 billion in “additional taxes” related to the construction project.
JPMorgan currently employs more than 20,000 people in the UK, including 13,000 based in London. The bank said in November that its office construction and upgrade projects would make an estimated contribution of £9.9 billion ($13.4 billion) to the UK economy and create more than 7,800 jobs over the next six years. Its existing operations in London are estimated to contribute £7.5 billion a year to the local economy.
Starmer’s leadership is at stake, following his party’s poor performance in UK local elections. elections last week led to widespread spread requests lawmakers for his resignation. On Tuesday morning, 90 MPs from the ruling Labor Party called on the Prime Minister to resign, while more than 100 signed a statement backing Starmer to stay in place.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech on May 11, 2026 in London, England, in a bid to secure his prime ministership.
Carl Court | Getty Images
A backlash against Starmer’s Labor Party resulted in huge gains for Britain’s right-wing Reform Party and the left-wing Green Party in last week’s poll.
But bond advocates have largely backed Starmer and his finance minister, Rachel Reeves, holding their ground over potential alternatives, with British bonds – known as gilts – sold off during previous periods of uncertainty over their political future.
Gilts sold across the curve on Tuesday amid political unrest. On Wednesday morning, they were gathering as investors reacted to Starmer’s refusal to call for his resignation.
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For his part, Dimon threw his support behind Starmer and Reeves in Tuesday’s interview.
“I think Keir Starmer is a very smart guy,” he told Bloomberg. “Politics is very tough. They’re in a bind because of debts and deficits, they inherited a lot of it, I think from the world of Rachel Reeves, and they have to be tough. They have to say ‘we’re going to do these things.’ [that] In the short term it may not be great, but governments need to do the things well that help the economy grow.
He also welcomed Starmer’s approach to repairing strained relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union after Brexit.
“I think they need to work more closely with Europe. If you remember, Keir Starmer and [French President Emmanuel] Macron, they were going to work more closely,” he said. “Not to reverse Brexit, but for military alliances, intelligence alliances, to ensure that economies have economic relationships that are good for both the continent and the UK.”
Starmer is expected to meet Health Secretary Wes Streeting on Wednesday morning, ahead of a speech by King Charles III to Parliament outlining the government’s programme. On Tuesday, during a routine Cabinet meeting, the prime minister said he would complete his five-year term.
Without Starmer’s resignation, a Labor leadership challenge – which would determine Starmer’s fate as leader of the ruling party – can only be triggered if 20% of Labor MPs back a challenger. Currently, that means 81 Labor MPs are expected to back a potential replacement.
