Yesterday Torsten Bell’s brother Olaf was confirmed as new director of the No 10 Policy Unit. Now Torsten himself is back in the Treasury thanks to the mini-reshuffle from Tulip Siddiq’s resignation and a nod from Starmer…
This is 15 years since Bell was last there as Alistair Darling’s SpAd. After that he designed the infamous EdStone as Miliband’s director of policy before leaving after the dismal 2015 loss. Anyway, here is what the government’s new Treasury minister recommended in his recent landmark report as head of the Resolution Foundation:
We trade one dodgy Treasury minister for another…
Andy Haldane, Burnham’s recent adviser on the economy who has not taken up a No10 job, told Andrew Marr on LBC:
“The market now suspects that this is a traditional tax-and-spend socialist government with better TikTok videos…
imposing windfall taxes on oil & gas or on banks or upping capital gains tax would […] repeat the mistake that Rachel made […] The Achilles heel, the fiscal Achilles heel of this government thus far has been its unwillingness and/or inability to cut public spending.”