Reeves' fiscal lock legislation deemed 'largely performative'

IFS analysis

Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ desire to introduce a ‘fiscal lock’ law to ensure increased scrutiny by the Office for Budget Responsibility has been termed “broadly sensible but largely performative” by British economic think tank.

Ben Zaranko, senior research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said that the sentiment from the new chancellor to avoid another Mini Budget "serves as a welcome commitment to fiscal transparency", but a future chancellor "determined to misbehave could almost certainly find a way to get around it". Rachel Reeves to introduce 'fiscal lock' law to strengthen OBR powers "The main impact of the bill, if there is one, will be to modestly increase the powers of the OBR vis-à-vis the Treasury," Zaranko added.  As part of the new chancellor's proposed bill, any economic policy ...