By Steve Conley
Founder, Academy of Life Planning
There’s a door in Whitehall that never closes. It doesn’t creak or clang; it spins—quietly, constantly. Through it pass the same faces, moving seamlessly between boardrooms and regulators, from multinational banks to public service roles, from profit to policy and back again.
They call it the revolving door.
To the public, it often looks like change. New appointments. Fresh leadership. Promises of reform. But behind the curtain, it’s the same cast, playing out a performance that keeps the interests of the powerful protected—and the public in the dark.
Take the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), for example—the UK’s watchdog, supposedly tasked with protecting consumers from financial harm. It is now being applauded by the Treasury for helping to “support growth” as part of the government’s Plan for Change. A noble goal at first glance—until you look at the guest list.
Nikhil Rathi, whose term as CEO has just been extended, is a former executive at Deutsche Bank. The latest wave of non-executive appointees includes ex-partners at EY, former global heads from ING and Willis Towers Watson, and a technocratic elite drawn from the very institutions the FCA is meant to oversee.
How did we come to accept this as normal?
The logic, we’re told, is experience. These individuals “know the system.” But perhaps they know it too well. Perhaps they are not stepping away from old allegiances—but carrying them in their briefcases.
And when those tasked with holding industry to account are selected from the same pool of insiders, how can we expect outcomes that serve the people?
More importantly—growth for whom?
We hear that word thrown around like a magic wand. Growth will save us. Growth will fund services. Growth will lift boats. But which boats? And which waters?
For the millions who’ve lost pensions to mis-selling, for the savers misled by glossy brochures, for the families still chasing justice from collapsed firms and negligent advisers—this growth has come at a cost. Their cost. Their silence. Their suffering.
They don’t feel growth. They feel betrayal.
Behind every “Plan for Change” lies a question the public is finally beginning to ask: who benefits when regulators and industry blur into one another?
It’s no coincidence that redress is slow, accountability rare, and consumer protection toothless when those writing the rules are also those who’ve long profited from their flexibility.
This isn’t just a failure of governance. It’s a moral crisis.
But the tide is turning. People are waking up. They’re seeing the names. They’re connecting the dots. They’re asking harder questions.
And they will not be gaslit by a government that rebrands deregulation as opportunity. They will not accept a financial system designed to extract rather than empower.
Real reform begins with locking the revolving door. It means putting consumers, not corporations, at the heart of policy. It means appointing watchdogs who bite, not purr.
Until then, we must keep asking: growth for whom?
Because if it’s not for the people, it’s not worth celebrating.
If this resonates, join the movement for financial transparency and justice. Follow the Academy of Life Planning. Together, let’s reclaim the system.
About Get SAFE
Get SAFE (Support After Financial Exploitation) was born from a simple truth: too many victims of financial abuse are left to suffer in silence.
We exist for people like Ian—for the ones who did everything right, only to be failed by the systems they trusted. We know that behind every vanished pension, every ignored complaint, and every stonewalled letter is a person—frightened, exhausted, and too often alone.
Get SAFE offers more than sympathy. We offer structure, support, and solidarity.
We provide a voice where there’s been silence, and clarity where there’s been confusion.
We stand beside those who have been exploited, not just to help them recover—but to help them reclaim their story and rebuild their future.
Because financial justice is not a luxury.
It’s a human right.
If you or someone you know has been affected by financial exploitation, we are here.
You are not alone.
Learn more at: Get SAFE (Support After Financial Exploitation).
Academy of Life Planning 
Absolutely, Paul — and your words cut to the heart of the issue.
You’re right: fines are not punishments anymore — they’re price tags. Price tags on corruption, misconduct, and systemic abuse. And the ones footing the bill? Everyday shareholders and loyal customers. The same people who placed their trust in these institutions are the ones left paying for the sins of their leadership.
Meanwhile, the executives — the very architects of this misconduct — walk away with their bonuses intact, sometimes even promoted. It’s grotesque. Andy’s reference on Tuesday to the Violation Tracker data was chilling: financial services dwarfed all other industries in fines, by a factor of five. That’s not coincidence — that’s culture.
A culture where ethical lines are blurred, and legal boundaries are just speed bumps. Where breaking the rules is calculated into the business model. A cost of doing business. An acceptable face of corruption — as you put it so sharply.
And then we have Nikhil Rathi, with a past at Deutsche Bank — one of the most penalised banks on that hit parade — now at the helm of the regulator. Rewarded, not reformed. It raises a haunting question: who is regulating whom?
Thank you, Paul, for continuing to call this out. This is a fight for justice, transparency, and genuine accountability. And we must keep making noise until the silence breaks.
— Steve