The UK stock market has for many years been a haven of interest for overseas companies and overseas investors due in the main to its "light touch regulations" and free market policy. However, it is becoming more and more apparent that regulations will need to tighten in the short term and indeed we could see a reduction in the freedom afforded to investors, investment companies and businesses in the UK market. So is the UK finally turning its back on a free market policy?



There is no doubt that the Labour Party, under the guise of the proposed "Cadbury law", is looking to reduce the number of overseas takeovers of UK companies. There are growing concerns this will have a knock-on effect to other investment markets around the world with the likes of the US unlikely to allow UK companies to take over their own operations while US operations are blocked from taking over UK companies.



The past success of the UK investment arena is in the view of many people down to the fact that freedom has been given within a light touch regulatory framework which prior to the credit crunch seemed to work very well. Whether we are now "throwing out the baby with the bathwater" is debatable but wholesale change in the UK investment arena could have massive consequences for the future.