Robert Chote is to be the head of Office for Budget Responsibility, the new (sort of*) independent forecasting unit in the Treasury. This probably as sensible as it unsurprising: Mr Chote has turned... Read More

George Osborne has persuaded Robert Chote to take on the Office of Budget Responsibility. It’s a coup for the Chancellor, who desperately needed someone of substance to take the job and get the ... Read More

The trouble with independent economists is that they can be, well, independent. Here, for instance, are some words from Geoffrey Dicks of the Office for Budget Responsibility, to the Treasury Select ... Read More

Sir Alan Budd was always going to go now. He told colleagues a month ago that his exit would be in July, and he would not be talked out of it. This morning’s excitement over the reasons for his ... Read More

The row over leaked Treasury job data is surely a bit overdone, and is based on a slight misunderstanding/misrepresentation of gross vs net employment effects. In short, it’s perfectly possible... Read More

George Osborne is going full speed on the roll-out of his deficit reduction plans: OBR today, £6bn next Monday (earlier than we thought), emergency Budget June 22, then the spending review reporting ... Read More