Sunak gets win as Deliveroo lines up London float – but what about its riders?

The company will be a beneficiary of new rules designed to tempt tech companies to the City but, James Moore writes, the controversy over its role in the gig economy continues to cast a pall

The treatment of its freelance riders who deliver meals is under the spotlight (Getty)

Under fire over inequality and Budget tax rises, Rishi Sunak was in need of a win. He found one by calling up a Deliveroo rider and chowing down on the company’s London flotation. 

I know, I know, it didn’t go quite like that. Deliveroo’s announcement of its pick of London as the venue for its flotation did, however, make reference to Lord Hill’s review of the listing rules, which Sunak set in train and has enthusiastically supported. 

So the announcement could hardly have been better timed for the chancellor.