When the Treasury lost control of interest rates to the Bank of England in 1997, its status looked under threat. However, it quickly reasserted its power by dominating policymaking across Whitehall and diminishing other ministries in the process. It also successfully fought off attempts by Prime Ministers, from Blair to Johnson, to cut it down to size.
In this fascinating insider account, based on in-depth interviews with the Chancellors and key senior officials, Howard Davies shows how the past twenty-five years have nonetheless been a roller-coaster ride for the Treasury. Heavily criticized for its response to the global financial crisis, and for the rigours of the austerity programme, it also ran into political controversy through its role in the Scottish referendum and the Brexit debate. The Treasury’s dire predictions of the impact of Brexit have not been borne out. Redemption of a kind, though a costly one, came from its muscular response to the COVID crisis.
Anyone with an interest in economic policymaking, in the UK and elsewhere, will find this a valuable and entertaining account.
Table of Content
Foreword
1. Economic Performance
2. Macroeconomic Policy
3. Public Expenditure
4. Tax Policy
5. Scotland: Saving the Union
6. Europe: the ins and outs
7. Financial Regulation and the City of London
8. Climate change: the road to Net Zero
9. The Treasury’s changing shape
10. Leadership
11. Trouble ahead
Notes
About the author
Howard Davies is Chairman of the Nat West Group and a Professor at Sciences Po, Paris.
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