Speeches by Glen.

“What do we do about it then? The country sees the growth figures, for which we as politicians generate great big headlines, one way or the other, but they seem pretty meaningless, because they are often restated. If they had been true to what they actually were on the restatement, they would not have generated anything…”

“You mean that outside of financial services is where the sluggishness exists.”

“I thought you were going to say that. “It’s on us”—which it sort of is.”

“That problem is quite key. It is this problem of defining a quite severe doomsday scenario without prescribing ameliorative policy interventions in the short term because of that apparent lack of licence to do so. Would it not be a helpful iteration of the OBR’s scope to say that, on the long term, there must be some c…”

“Yes, that is what I am here to do.”

“The politicians muck it up as ever.”

“On that, do you recognise the way that the OBR is slammed for almost being an arbiter of government policy and having the right of veto? That is the way it is presented in some of the political discourse. Has that happened in your country? How do you think that should be handled?”

“Could we move now to the UK fiscal framework? Could you tell us what you think about the UK’s fiscal framework as compared to other countries? What are the ways that it could be changed to produce a less contentious circus of commentary every fiscal event?”

“Could I try to build on this? This Committee is trying to develop sensible recommendations for our Government here in the UK and it is really helpful to have your description of your own system. When you look at ours, I am sure you are familiar with the IFS’s traffic light system proposal and the reaction of Richard Hu…”

“I have never heard that before.”

“Can I focus in on that long-term forecasting and its value? It seems to me that the OBR in the UK does a very thorough job of assessing the long-term risks and liabilities, but it seems to be completely disconnected from the political discourse, probably to its frustration. It has suggested that we have an annual debat…”

“I congratulate the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the hon. and learned Member for Northampton North (Lucy Rigby), on her elevation to her new position. The subject that I want to focus on—the enhancing financial services Bill—makes me reflect on the fact that I was in office as Economic Secretary for 1,640 days and, …”

“The right hon. Gentleman is, quite reasonably, setting out his assertions about where he wants the Government to go, but does he not see the irony? After all the events of last week, the cost of borrowing in the UK is higher than that of many of our competitors, and all business leaders say they feel the instability. T…”

“I want to probe around the impact that the regulation of banks has had on the development of private credit. As I understand it, you regulate banks in one way and it creates an incentive, or not, to find returns elsewhere. When it goes into that private credit situation, it is not within your oversight but, as you have…”

“The strategic question is to what extent you can bring reasonable risk within the remit of the Bank’s oversight, for overall stability, without causing a reduction in risk taking and economic gain.”

“Just to probe you gently on that, the direction of the Prime Minister is that he believes that there is room for a closer relationship. What would you say that would or could look like from your point of view as the deputy governor and head of the PRA?”

“You seem to be saying there needs to be greater transparency than exists at the moment. Is that correct?”

“Your role is very important, Ms Braddick; 85% of household lending comes from the banks, and half of corporate lending in the UK, so the decisions you make will be really important. There was an article a couple of weeks ago by David Postings, which I am sure you have read, and he pointed out that some of the decisions…”

“Is it fair to characterise what you just said as, regardless of what happens with politicians in terms of whether they move closer to the EU or the US, there is an underlying depth of interwiring between supervisors across different jurisdictions, which serves us well in all circumstances?”

“Do you think that?”