The business secretary, Peter Kyle, has publicly urged UK pension funds to "get off their high horses" and invest more in British companies, warning that the government will legislate to force them if they do not. Expressing frustration that successive government reforms have failed to lift domestic investment, Kyle argued that the country's largest asset managers "should feel a patriotic duty in making Britain a success" rather than sitting in a "walled-off garden". His intervention matters because it signals ministers may deploy so-called mandation powers, a step long resisted by the City, in an effort to channel savers' money into UK growth.

The remarks build on years of cross-party efforts, including Rachel Reeves's "Mansion House accord" with 17 major pension funds to release up to £50bn voluntarily, at least half of it earmarked for British assets such as clean energy and startups. Reeves earlier secured back-stop mandation powers, though after fierce City lobbying these were watered down so they cannot be used before 2028 and lapse if unused by 2032. Ministers remain frustrated that overseas schemes, such as Canadian and Australian funds, often invest more heavily in UK infrastructure than domestic managers. Kyle's comments come amid a leadership transition, with Andy Burnham expected to become prime minister by 20 July, and the minister pledged that the government's industrial strategy would continue and made a pitch to keep his own job.