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Mahmood named among frontrunners for UK chancellor role
Speculation around the appointment lifted the pound about 1% against the US dollar this week, according to XTB.
Andy Burnham is set to move into Downing Street on 20 July after becoming the UK prime minister, and while his team says cabinet position decisions will wait until Monday, attention has already focused on who will take the top Treasury role.
BBC Business reports that there is increasing talk of the current home secretary becoming chancellor, with the BBC told there are live discussions about putting her in Number 11, and the Financial Times reporting it as a certainty based on three sources close to Burnham.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said markets have rallied in relief to the reports, citing a roughly 1% rise in the pound against the US dollar over the week. She added that the reaction suggests investors trust the likely choice to take a pragmatic approach to economic policy and to tackle welfare spending, and that Burnham is willing to include more right-leaning figures in key economic posts.
However, the BBC notes that the Press Association reports the home secretary is keen to stay as home secretary and to see through changes she has brought to the asylum system. The article also discusses other names believed to be in the running, including former Labour leader Ed Miliband, with differing views on whether financial markets would back him given the government’s reliance on market confidence to fund spending.