I mentioned the Blair years, because the gambling in the City increased in the late 1990s with Deriatives Trading taking off i.e. even under a Left of Centre Government. Labour did join in what had started under Major that is correct - no UK Governments did anything to stop it. They general feeling seem to be financial services were the future for the UK, particularly services based in the City. The City would then generate the taxes and wealth to pay for welfare and public services around the UK, particularly in the former industrial and mining areas. I was never happy with this, but I could see it happening. in the late 1990s and early 2000s, 10% of new graduates went into accountancy style jobs, mainly in London and its commuterlands.
We have the legacy of this today, with a younger population in London and major cities and a much older population in the left behind areas. With property ownership actually higher in the left behind areas then Generation Rent in London as property in left behind area has become cheaper against much higher prices in say London. Property owners tend to vote Tory and renters don't.