It’s time to get serious about stamp duty on shares, a terrible advert for London

The number of listed companies fleeing can't be ignored, and cutting or abolishing the tax could revive the capital market

Last year was another depressing one for departures from the London stock market. Back in January, it was Flutter heading for the exit. The owner of Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet got itself a secondary listing in the US and said it would quickly convert it into the primary one, which it did in May.

When December arrived, we were still on the same theme. Ashtead Group, the 27bn construction rental company that has been listed in London since 1986, announced plans to shift its primary listing to New York. Other escapers include Just Eat Takeaway, which is off to Amsterdam.