Shortly after John Healey was named Andy Burnham’s surprise pick for Chancellor he quipped: “‘All I’ve done so far is go up to the chancellor’s office and it’s very much as Gordon Brown left it”.
Not Rachel Reeves, note, but Gordon Brown. Brown hasn’t been Chancellor for nearly 20 years – he swapped No 11 Downing Street for No 10 in 2007 – but he is still held in high regard in the City. Not for his politics, but because they knew where they stood.
Conversely, Reeves was distrusted by business for the shock employers’ national insurance rise and disregarded for the alleged hyping of her CV, claiming she was a Bank of England economist – behaviour that is heavily frowned upon in corporate-land.
Shorts
Which is why the appointment of Healey, a left-wing trade unionist with minimal business experience, is not as unpopular a pick with the City as you might think.
