The Times reports that Jim O’Neill, one of the economic advisers brought on by Team Burnham to calm the markets during the Makerfield by-election, is refusing to join No10 partly because he fears it will impose a wealth tax. Doesn’t fill you with confidence, does it?
O’Neill is a former economist for Goldman Sachs and Tory Treasury minister who has been offered big jobs in No10. That fact that Burnham’s close allies are strong supporters of a wealth tax is keeping him away…
Burnham has refused to rule out such a tax so far. Despite doing so for others, like stamp duty reform…
The ‘sensibles’ brought in to ‘advise’ Burnham on economics are set to be shunned when it comes to formal advisory positions in government. Not even a month has passed since they were supposedly brought into the Burnham fold…
Team Burnham provided a pointed briefing to two financial papers on the eve of the Makerfield by-election that Richard Hughes, Andy Haldane, and Jim O’Neill were advising Andy on the economy. From the Guardian last night:
“Richard Hughes, the former chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility, is not expected to take a formal position. Jim O’Neill, the former Goldman Sachs chief economist, and Andy Haldane, the former Bank of England chief economist, are also unlikely to have formal roles.”
The paper is also shoring up rumours that radical leftist Miatta Fahnbulleh won’t have a top economic advisory role but may have a ministerial job instead. SW1 sources have speculated that getting Fahnbulleh out of the way would be a key priority for Blairite No10 Chief of Staff James Purnell. There was a curious briefing in the Telegraph not long ago:
‘Under an “affordable energy guarantee”, all households would be offered discounted rates for “essential” energy use, with thresholds adjusted for household size and extra support for low-income households.
However, some Labour figures have expressed doubts about some elements of the proposal, while others have questioned how the Government will fund the policy without significant tax rises.
Allies of James Purnell, Mr Burnham’s chief of staff, described parts of a broader cost of living package put forward by Ms Fahnbulleh to Mr Burnham as “naive” and unworkable.’
The boat is rocking and it has not yet left port…
Lord Khan in the Telegraph: “I hope, and I say this in a non-pompous way, that the public service I do will bring rewards in this world and the hereafter,” he says. “I’m hoping the work I do is earning me Brownie points.”