Matthew Lynn Matthew Lynn

Mark Carney’s replacement must be a Brexiteer

Almost half a million a year basic. A generous housing allowance. Lots of invitations to swanky conferences, and a fantastic office right in the centre of town. And all the last guy had to do during six years in the job was tweak interest rates three times. That works out at a million per move – and that’s before expenses. Running the Bank of England is, on the surface at least, such a cushy job I might even apply myself. We never even have a decent sterling crisis to contend with any more.

And yet despite that, there are already reports that the Chancellor might have trouble finding anyone to take over from Mark Carney next year. The Treasury advertised the vacancy this morning and started tweeting it out immediately, perhaps in the hope of drumming up some interest.

The problem? The argument is that our departure from the EU means many of the most distinguished central bankers will be reluctant to take on the job. The British economy is impossible to run any more and they will be left with an almighty mess to clear up runs the argument. But hold on. That is crazy. In fact, there is a very simple solution. Just appoint a Brexiteer.

On the original schedule, Brexit was meant to have been wrapped up by the time Carney left next year. But that doesn’t look likely any more. We might have crashed out with no deal, we might have decided to stay, Theresa May might still be plugging away valiantly with the 38th meaningful vote on her deal, or we might have simply resolved to never mention the whole thing ever again. Who knows? It’s anyone’s guess what might happen.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in