Labour aims to have a governor ‘in tune’ with Corbyn at Bank
JOHN MCDONNELL pledged to install a Bank of England Governor who was “in tune” with the ideas of himself and Jeremy Corbyn if Labour was to form a government in the next general election, newly found video has shown.
The shadow chancellor said he was taking counsel from key advisers to choose a candidate suitable for the “requirements of what will be a radical Labour government”.
Footage on YouTube shows Mr McDonnell giving a speech to Novara Media in September last year in which said: “When we move forward what we will want to have is someone in the Bank of England that, yes, is in tune with our ideas but has the status and the experience of understanding the economy.
“We have a set of advisers helping us through, and it will be chosen from, I think, the right person at the right time to meet the requirements of what will be a radical Labour government.”
Mr McDonnell praised his “good working relationship” with Mark Carney, the current governor, who was under pressure from Eurosceptic Tory MPs to resign over his aversion to a “no-deal” Brexit last autumn.
The Labour MP welcomed Philip Hammond’s confirmation of Mr Carney staying in post until January 2020. Mr McDonnell said: “I have a good working relationship with Mark Carney, we meet on a regular basis and we have a dialogue which I think is incredibly constructive. What I was pleased with is that he stayed on because that means it gives me more of an opportunity for us to come to government and choose our own, so that is helpful for us.”
A spokesman for John McDonnell said last night: “This is pure invention and absolute rubbish. Labour would maintain full Bank of England independence from government and political decision making.”
In March, The Sunday Telegraph revealed that businesses were being warned to step up preparations for a Corbyn government amid the growing likelihood of a general election.
The Investment Association, a trade body representing investment firms, told its members that the likelihood of a Labour prime minister was growing. In a private briefing to members, which include JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley’s investment arms, it warned of an “inbuilt scepticism of the City”.
MPs have raised concerns at the prospect of Mr McDonnell selecting a governor who shares his fiscal ideas.
Charlie Elphicke, Tory MP for Dover who sits on the Treasury Committee, said: “A radical hard Left governor of the Bank of England chosen by John McDonnell would be a complete disaster. Interest rates would rocket, threatening homeowners and small business. Our economy would be driven off a cliff. It’s clear a Corbyn Government would take us backwards and make the country poorer.” Mr McDonnell has not named a possible choice for governor.