Jonathan May

What he does outside the Panel

Jonathan has had a wide-ranging career in the civil service and is currently working in the competition field. Since leaving the Office of Fair Trading in 2010, Jonathan has become a Member of the Competition Appeal Tribunal and a Special Advisor on consumer, competition and regulatory issues for Finsbury International Policy and Regulatory Advisors.

Positions held in the past

Jonathan was closely involved in the development of competition and regulatory policy, first at the Treasury then the Department of Trade and Industry and, since 2001, the Office of Fair Trading. At the OFT he was responsible for market studies, looking at competition and consumer issues together, and for references to the Competition Commission and, from 2006 as Executive Director and member of the Board, for policy and delivery across most of OFT's consumer and competition interests. At the Treasury, his interests included public spending, privatisation, energy, utilities and competition and he led on the windfall tax on privatised utilities and the energy and utility reviews of the late 1990s. At the DTI he brought the Competition Act into effect and led on the Competition White Paper and regulatory issues.

Reasons for joining the Panel

Having been previously involved in policy questions around financial services both in Whitehall and at OFT, Jonathan has seen how difficult it can be for consumers to make good choices. He is keen to put his regulatory experience and perspective to use on the Panel, especially as the Panel has an increasingly important role in ensuring that there is a strong and responsive regulatory system to look after consumers’ needs and interests.

Areas of particular interest on the Panel

Jonathan is interested in how the new regulatory framework will look after consumer rather than producer interests. He has a longstanding interest in helping consumers to better understand what they need and how to get it. Banks and investments are his other areas of interest..

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