Embattled Carney set to defy critics and serve his full eight years at Bank
Mark Carney is expected to defy calls for him to quit as Bank of England governor.
Public disagreements with No 10 and pressure from Brexit leaders have led to speculation that he would depart in 2018.
But the Canadian is said to be leaning strongly toward remaining in post and will make a statement on his future this week.
Mr Carney agreed an eight-year contract in 2013, with a break clause after five years.
He is thought to want to stay on so he can help guide the Uk economy after next March when Theresa May triggers article 50 – the two-year process for Brexit.
‘Mid-2018 could be the darkest days for the Uk,’ a source familiar with his thinking told the Financial Times. He is expected to speak to Mrs May and Chancellor Philip Hammond before making a decision.
Mr Carney’s position has been the subject of widespread speculation after his policies were publicly criticised by the Prime Minister in her Conservative Party conference speech two weeks ago.
While not mentioning him by name, Mrs May said ultra-low interest rates and printing money had damaged the interests of savers, pensioners and the young.
He hit back, saying she should stop telling him how to do his job.
‘We are not going to take instruction on our policies from the politi- cal side,’ he said. Former chancellor Lord Lawson called on him to stand down last month, accusing him of joining ‘the chorus of scaremongering’ during the EU referendum campaign.
and Michael Gove, the former Cabinet minister who led the vote Leave campaign, compared Mr Carney to a Chinese emperor whose ‘person was held to be inviolable and without imperfections’ and whose critics were flayed alive.
He said ‘any criticism of his actions is regarded as a thought crime – and those who dare to question his rule are flayed in the Press with dire warnings left hanging in the air to emphasise the governor will brook no challenge to his authority’.
Mr Carney, 51, was hired by George Osborne in 2013 on £874,000 a year including a £ 250,000 housing allowance. Before the EU vote, Mr Carney suggested campaigners in favour of leaving the EU were ‘in denial’ about some of the economic risks.
In august the Bank predicted growth of just 0.1 per cent growth in the third quarter of 2016. Last week official figures showed the economy grew by 0.5 per cent.
appearing before a House of Lords committee last week Mr Carney said he was still weighing up his future, describing it as an ‘entirely personal decision’.
a spokesman for the Bank of England said: ‘The governor has said he will make his decision public by the end of the year.’
Labour Treasury spokesman Jonathan reynolds said: ‘Labour deeply regret the irresponsible behaviour of Tory politicians seeking to undermine the position of Mark Carney. They cannot seriously seek to pass responsibility for the underperformance of the economy over the last six years to the Bank of England. The Governor’s actions helped calm the situation in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote.’
Mr Hammond was locked in a row with Tory Brexiteers last night over the Treasury’s gloomy forecasts about the impact of Britain leaving the EU.
He hit back at International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, who suggested the economy was going so well it would not need a cash injection of any sort at next month’s autumn statement.