A calm Canadian sticks with Britain

BANK of England Governor Mark Carney’s decision to stay in post until the end of January 2020 has been greeted with relief.

He arrived in the UK in 2013 and had a great enough challenge on his plate trying to restore prosperity in the 2008 financial crisis’ wake.

Now he has the task of trying to preserve financial stability as the country hurtles into Brexit.

Chancellor Philip Hammond yesterday told MPs, in a typical moment of dry understatement, that “quite a turbulent period for our economy” could be on the way.

Mr Carney’s decision while at the helm of the Bank of Canada in 2008 to cut interest rates has been credited with helping secure a markedly swift recovery. Likewise, his calm immediate response to the Brexit vote – in which he stressed that the “capital requirements of our largest banks are now 10 times higher than before the crisis” and said the Bank stood ready to “provide more than £250bn of additional funds” – may have helped calm nerves at a jittery time.

He has refused to be jostled into prematurely raising interest rates and the continued presence of this storm-tested governor will be welcomed by business.

A priority for all branches of government must be ensuring that investor confidence does not evaporate as Brexit approaches, and Mr Carney will play an important role in dispelling notions that Britain is entering a chapter of permacrisis.

Mr Carney’s memoirs will make a fascinating read. He has seen the British political, commercial and academic establishments up close in a period of profound and relentless change and yet retained the respect of figures as diverse as the Chancellor and Labour’s John McDonnell.

When he has left the Bank he will be free to speak with a new candour about the strengths and weaknesses of an economy which remains woefully reliant on the fortunes of London and the southeast, and his assessment of why a recession-battered population embraced the risk of Brexit will be equally fascinating.

He is the first person from outside the UK to hold the position but he is unlikely to be the last.

Just as a Premier League football club scours the world for talented players who can help a side avoid relegation, Wales and the UK will need to find people with bright minds and cool heads who can help us grasp opportunities and avoid threats in the months ahead.