I am putting my name forward to become the next Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee.
In this Parliament the Committee will play a vital role in scrutinising the Government as it negotiates our exit from the European Union. The Committee will need to analyse and comment on the economic, financial and social ramifications of any proposed outcomes to the negotiations.
The Committee’s work will obviously include the normal scrutiny of the Chancellor, the Treasury and the Bank of England. However, I am keen to ensure the Committee considers undertaking enquiries of interest submitted by any Member of the House, and I have already received suggestions for work on the barriers to competition in personal banking and the economic geography of infrastructure.
In support of my candidacy, I should add.
- Prior to my election I worked in financial markets for twenty years.
- I have served as a Transport Minister, on the Opposition Front Bench and have been a PPS to a Cabinet Member.
- I have served on the Treasury Select Committee since 2015 and prior to that on the Public Accounts Committee. As a Treasury Select Committee Member I was praised by CityAM for not being “afraid to question the claims on both sides of the debate”. I also featured on their front page for raising with the Chancellor the fears of the financial services industry that the Government is indifferent to their plight.
- In the last Parliament I was Chairman of the APPG for Wholesale Financial Markets and the APPG for Infrastructure. I sit on the Advisory Board of the Financial Services Negotiation Forum, which is already seeking a negotiated deal to protect one of our key industries. I also sit on the Advisory Board of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering.