Former Bank of England Governor Eddie George has died.
David Cameron issued this statement:
I worked at the Bank of England from 1992 to 1998. 'Steady Eddie' was hugely respected throughout the Bank. He was very proud to have been Governor when the Bank won independence over interest rate policy but I remember his face at an extraordinary meeting of all staff in 1997 when he told us about the formation of the FSA and the loss of the Bank's supervisory functions. No negative words passed his lips but his face was a picture of anger.
May his family know peace at this time.
Tim Montgomerie
6.30pm Statement from Ken Clarke: "This is very sad news and we will all miss him very much. I always enjoyed working with him; he was a very wise head with a very calm temperament. His advice was always worth having and he was a reliable colleague in every type of crisis.”
Gordon Brown's open letter to Mr George back in May 1997 granted a qualified independence, which in reality meant that the MPC was always expected to do the governments bidding, if it didn't, the government reserved the right to step in and take over. To this day the shadow of the government hangs over MPC policy.
David Cameron's words are a fine tribute to a very fine governor. However perhaps the most fitting tribute would be a Conservative government rolling back the state and letting the MPC become the dispassionate and objective body that it ought to be.
Posted by: Tony Makara | April 18, 2009 at 16:53
"We knew that we were having to stimulate consumer spending. We knew we had pushed it up to levels which couldn't possibly be sustained into the medium and long term. But for the time being, if we had not done that, the UK economy would have gone into recession just as the United States did."
Sadly Lord George is likely to be remembered far more for his errors of judgment than the excallant work which got him to the top in the first place. I do of course send my condolences to his family at this time.
Posted by: Ross Warren | April 18, 2009 at 17:17
I think Ross Warren may be proved correct.
In fact on the links above, it goes through an outline of how the Bank was split up in 1997, losing it's supervisory powers, although that part of the story was well against Eddie George's advice. We are now paying the price.
This is sad news. Somehow I found his presence re-assuring.
Posted by: Joe James B | April 18, 2009 at 17:43
Condolences to his family.
He may have been respected in the bank, but it is questionable if he deserves wider respect. In his autobiography he admitted fixing the gold market to bail out some bankers who had bet the wrong way. As such he was no friend of the free market and bears some responsibility for the situation we find ourselves in today.
A rising gold price warns of government profligacy, by misleading the market many businessmen have over stretched themselves . We will endure the pain for many years.
Posted by: Jim | April 18, 2009 at 18:11
Very sad.
Posted by: Super Blue | April 18, 2009 at 22:08
He served his time. Alas for him he was not to live that long to enjoy his retirement. As with others here my condolences to his family.
Posted by: Steve Foley | April 18, 2009 at 22:43