A Sustainable Leviathan? UK Finances in a Changing World

As the UK government navigates a landscape of immense fiscal pressure and difficult economic choices, who truly holds the reins of public finance?

In recent decades, a new architecture of independent institutions like the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has been created to provide impartial forecasts and safeguard the UK’s economic credibility. These bodies are designed to act as neutral referees, holding government policy up to expert scrutiny and preventing a return to politically motivated or unsustainable fiscal decisions.

But what is the trade-off? Does this turn towards technocratic oversight strengthen democracy by arming the public with facts, or does it subtly shift power away from elected representatives? When the demands of market credibility conflict with the political will of the electorate, which logic prevails?

Join us for a special event closing the workshop "A Sustainable Leviathan?" where we bring the debate from theory to practice.

Speakers:

Sir Robert Chote: The first Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility (2010-2020) and current Chair of the UK Statistics Authority.

Professor Charles Bean: Former Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy at the Bank of England and a member of the Budget Responsibility Committee at the OBR (2016-2021).

This is a free public event open to all. The event will take place in CBG.1.04 (first floor). If you are an internal LSE staff or student member, please use your LSE email address to register.

Host or Publisher LSE Department of Government