Former Treasury official
Joined January 2013
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I'm calling time on twitter. I can no longer take its tone though the fault is probably mine. Have gone over to Bluesky which appears rather more civilised. #nickmacpherson.bsky.social #soundmoney
Every Chief Secretary to the Treasury (and for that matter every spending official) should read it. #soundmoney
Nick Macpherson retweeted
Nick is right.. Jeremy Hunt would have been apoplectic if HMT officials had shared their view of spending pressures with the Shadow Chancellor before the election as he suggested (unless he authorised it...)
I feel for HMT officIals. The rules precluded them sharing spending pressures with Ms Reeves ahead of the Election; the current framework precluded them discussing the realism of spending plans with the OBR. The changes to the OBR charter announced today are a big step forward.
The interesting question about the universal winter fuel payment is not its abolition but why it lasted so long. Mr Brown introduced it when the state pension was indexed to prices. Once the "triple lock" was introduced, the case for a WFP for all fell away.
The time to abolish the 1200 year old penny is when we abolish the coinage altogether. Meanwhile, as a wise PM observed when seeing off a similar proposal "if you look after the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves". #soundmoney
🚨 NEW: The Treasury is considering scrapping 1ps and 2ps
[@EveningStandard]
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
The Treasury has denied scrapping 1p and 2p coins. No new orders of 1p or 2p coins have been placed this year due to the amount already in circulation.
bbc.com/news/articles/…
The fault line in the current UK fiscal regime is less Truss-style mini-budgets and more the requirement that the OBR has to take on trust wholly implausible spending plans, eg on prisons, defence & social care. Solving that is the route to fiscal credibility. #soundmoney
Nick Macpherson retweeted
I saw this and remembered Nick Macpherson's comment that "The Treasury exists to protect people from the consequences of human nature"
The most effective politicians I worked for always made time for their families. Alistair Darling comes to mind. Those who sought to work every hour of the day became increasingly ineffective. This line of attack is utterly incomprehensible.
Keir Starmer's comments that he will not work past 6pm on a Friday to spend time with his children are not "realistic" and "quite tin-eared”, says energy secretary Claire Coutinho.
📻 shorturl.at/0iGnR
@StigAbell
Nick Macpherson retweeted
Do come along to King’s tomorrow evening if you’re interested in learning more about the May 1997 transition at the Treasury - our panel includes Nick Macpherson, Sue Nye, Tom Scholar and we’ll be showing clips from the STV documentaries and discussing them with director Ross Wilson and producer Rhoda Macdonald - all happening at 6pm Thursday, link below to register…
Join us on 27 June for an edited viewing of 1997 STV doc 'We Are The Treasury' with @edballs @nickmacpherson2 Sue Nye & Tom Scholar plus director Ross Wilson & producer @RhodaMacdonald discussing the events at HMT after the election & lessons for today
🎟️ thestrandgroup.kcl.ac.uk/eve…
Nick Macpherson retweeted
Our Visiting Prof @nickmacpherson2: ‘When it comes to economic policy making, history is probably the best guide there is’ spectator.co.uk/article/the-…
Join us this Autumn for 10th year of our postgrad ‘Chancellors & the Treasury: Managing the British Economy’ thestrandgroup.kcl.ac.uk/mod…
Nick Macpherson retweeted
Join us on 27 June for an edited viewing of 1997 STV doc 'We Are The Treasury' with @edballs @nickmacpherson2 Sue Nye & Tom Scholar plus director Ross Wilson & producer @RhodaMacdonald discussing the events at HMT after the election & lessons for today
🎟️ thestrandgroup.kcl.ac.uk/eve…
No government however left wing has ever contemplated applying CGT to principal residence. As for the CGT rate, the OBR determines how much revenue any change generates. In my time, the rate which maximised revenue was in the 23-28% range. #redherringtastic
NEW
Labour is now explicitly ruling out putting Capital Gains Tax on people’s main homes.
Labour spokesman: “No. Labour will not introduce capital gains taxes on primary residences. It’s a bad idea.”
A change in position after 9 days of Tory pressure.
telegraph.co.uk/politics/202…
Tim Lankaster’s “Inside Thatcher’s Monetarism Experiment: the Promise, the Failure, the Legacy” is well worth a read. Here’s my review for @spectator
The costly legacy of Margaret Thatcher’s monetarism spectator.co.uk/article/the-…
Some fascinating articles here, not least from my old friends @ciaranmartinoxf and @Gus_ODonnell . A fitting memorial to Lord Heywood of Whitehall.
We are delighted to announce that the Heywood Quarterly’s initial Election Series of articles is now live! You can read all the articles here 👇
heywoodquarterly.com/
A sign of desperation that these costings are attributed to Treasury officials, when the assumptions are determined by Tory special advisers. Glad that the official Treasury set the record straight on Monday. #garbageingarbageout
In last night's election debate, there were heated exchanges over tax. Rishi Sunak said Labour wanted to raise tax by £2,000 which Sir Keir Starmer called 'absolute garbage'.
@JustinOnWeb asks energy secretary Claire Coutinho about who costed Labour's spending plans.
#R4Today
Philip Snowden's description of replacing Churchill as Chancellor. Confirms @liambyrnemp was in good company though, unlike David Laws who published a private letter, Snowden had the decency to wait 5 years before reporting the conversation.
A bit puzzled. It's the independent Bank which sets interest rates. I feel for Dr Bailey and his MPC colleagues. I don't recall Messrs Brown, Darling and Osborne making similar assertions in the 2001, 2005, 2010 and 2015 elections and for good reasons. #soundmoney
Until this announcement, I was unpersuaded 16-17 year olds should get the vote. Now, I regard it as essential. #strangetimes
BBC News - Conservatives plan to bring back mandatory national service
bbc.com/news/articles/cpddxy…
Nick Macpherson retweeted
As ever, very insightful comment on macroeconomic policy looking ahead, beyond the election by @nickmacpherson2 “Sighs of relief will be coming from the Treasury and BoE” via @FT
on.ft.com/4bMQzfE