Read all about it in this week's Who's Top Who's Not.
Top - Torsten Bell
It has been a rollercoaster of a week in HMT. Tulip Siddiq quit her position as City Minister amid growing pressure over an anti-corruption investigation in Bangladesh. And jittery markets increased the government’s borrowing costs, making things stickier for the Chancellor. HMT likely spent the week checking under the sofa cushions for loose change. But not all was doom and gloom.
Tulip’s resignation began a small political reshuffle, with Emma Reynolds stepping into her role and leaving the Pensions Minister post open. Enter Torsten Bell, who might just provide a silver lining—or at least a slightly less stormy grey one—to the Treasury’s otherwise overcast week.
Considered one of the best economic minds in Labour politics, Bell boasts an impressive CV, having worked as a special adviser to Alistair Darling, as Head of Policy under Ed Miliband, and until recently as Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation. His appointment will provide much needed economic know-how in DWP, as well as some political acumen in HMT.
But some alarm ringing has occurred: in the past, Bell has been quite vocal about scrapping the pensions triple lock. While his previous statements might scare the horses, it is unlikely that such politically damaging changes will occur during this parliament.
Middle-ranking – Rachel Reeves
WTWN placed Rachel Reeves in the “sinking quickly” category last week, and for much of this week it looked that she had no life jacket to grab. Government bond yields hit their highest since the 2008 financial crisis, and skyrocketing government’s borrowing costs evaporated Reeves’s hopes of any fiscal wiggle room.
The situation looked alarming, and the Opposition took the opportunity to call for her sacking. But it seems that Reeves got through the week by the skin of her teeth. Data published on Wednesday showed that UK GDP increased by 0.1% in November (even anaemic growth is better than nothing) and more importantly, inflation slightly decreased in December.
This could allow the Bank of England to justify lowering interest rates later this year, helping to keep both mortgage and government borrowing costs down. For now, Reeves has dodged the axe. But she will need to show that the government’s reforms are becoming effective in boosting the UK’s economic growth, or these monetary dramas will be far from over.
Sinking Quickly – Liz Truss and her legal team
Liz Truss’s legal team sent a cease-and-desist letter to Starmer, requesting he stop blaming her for crashing the UK economy during her brief stint as Prime Minister. According to the letter, Starmer’s statements during the General Election campaign have inflicted serious harm on Truss’s reputation and contributed to her losing her constituency —a case of words apparently hurting more than political mistakes.
The letter claims that the markets’ jitters were caused by pension funds and the Bank of England, rather than Truss and the political-economic disaster zone that was her brief premiership. A spokesperson for the Prime Minister didn’t miss a beat, issuing a public rebuttal that the version of events outlined in the letter does not reflect what the British people experienced – soaring interest rates and a sterling slump.
The real loser here is the Conservative Party brand as the UK is once again reminded of what the Tory government did to the economy. The Tories' reputation for efficient economic management won't be rehabilitated until Liz learns to enjoy her retirement.
They say that when you’re in a hole, stop digging; someone should grab Liz’s shovel.