UK will not appoint new Central Bank Chief before election: Official

The UK government has delayed the appointment of Bank of England governor Mark Carney's successor until after the December 12 elections, with Carney finishing his term in January 2020. The outgoing governor is set to leave on January 31, which also happens to be the deadline for Britain to leave the European Union. It is by the rule that the British government does not make major appointments a few weeks before the elections.

Notable names on the list

According to reports, a former deputy Bank of England governor Minouch Shafik was the preferred candidate to take the seat of the governor. Also, other candidates to have made it to the shortlist are two current deputy BOE governors, Jon Cunliffe and Ben Broadbent alongside Andrew Bailey, chief of the Financial Conduct Authority.

Even after the elections, if there is no clear government elected and Britain leaves the European Union without a deal, the Bank of England will have to ask Mark Carney to not step down from his post for a few more weeks after his January 31 deadline.

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 John McDonnell lauds opposition parties for support

In an address, shadow chancellor John McDonnell stated that the UK government would have not been able to make any major appointment after the Parliament had been dismissed for the upcoming elections without the support of the opposition parties. 

He further added that if an appointment had been rushed before the elections, it would have been tagged as something inappropriate. John also said that he wanted the new governor in accordance with the Labour's ideas.

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"Decision independent of party politics"

UK chancellor Sajid Javid, who is responsible for appointing the BOE governor, said that the decision to appoint the new governor is completely independent of any party politics. Reportedly, the BOE and treasury officials told Javid that any appointment would undermine the choice if the Conservatives do not remain in power after the December 12 elections. 

While speaking to an international media outlet, Sajid stated that the process of appointing the new governor was going on without any roadblocks. He also said that he valued the independence of the Bank of England and also wanted the new governor to understand those values and work with an independent mindset.

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(With inputs from agencies)