Bank of England Debate

Full Debate: Read Full Debate
Department: HM Treasury

Bank of England

John Redwood Excerpts
Monday 26th November 2012

(12 years ago)

Commons Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
George Osborne Portrait Mr Osborne
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s support. Perhaps we could bottle this cross-party consensus and use it on future occasions, but I doubt it.

Mark Carney will apply for British citizenship, but he is absolutely clear that he should do so in the normal way—the same way in which anyone else would apply for it. One thing that I have learned from the last Government is that Ministers of the Crown should be very careful about becoming involved in citizenship decisions.

John Redwood Portrait Mr John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con)
- Hansard - -

I welcome the appointment of someone who should bring new thinking to troubled banking and monetary policy in the United Kingdom. Will the Chancellor confirm that, when he has studied the subject, Mr Carney will be free to change our monetary and banking policy in ways that could promote a more sustained and favourable economic recovery?

George Osborne Portrait Mr Osborne
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

I thank my right hon. Friend for his support for the appointment. We have now united all points on the spectrum.

The Governor of the Bank will chair the Financial Policy Committee, the body that will be responsible for macro-prudential regulation. In other words, he will set overall guidance on issues such as capital and liquidity, about which I know my right hon. Friend has spoken powerfully. Any decision on the framework of the inflation-targeting regime and the like will be made by the elected Government and not by the Governor of the Bank.