Reeves has announced Professor Jonathan Haskel is her nominated candidate for the Chairman of the Office for Budget Responsibility:
“Professor Haskel is a Professor of Economics at Imperial College London. His research focuses on productivity and growth, and he has held senior roles across academia, public policy and independent oversight.
He served as an External Member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee from 2018 to 2024, a non-Executive Director of the UK Statistics Authority from 2016 to 2022, and an External Member of the Reporting Panel of the Competition and Markets Authority from 2001 to 2009.
The Treasury Committee approves all appointments to the Budget Responsibility Committee, including the Chair. Professor Haskel will appear before the committee for a pre-appointment hearing in due course and it is anticipated he can could take up his post in good time to oversee the OBR produce its forecast alongside the Budget later this year.
In the interim, Budget Responsibility Committee members Professor David Miles and Tom Josephs will continue to lead the OBR. “
Again – just before a (likely) new Chancellor…
Haskel has long argued against Brexit. In 2019 he said 70% of any post-referendum fall in UK business investment was caused by Brexit, and later in 2023 made a big fuss of his calculation that Brexit has dealt the UK economy a “productivity penalty” of £29 billion. Not a surprise appointment…
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”