Brexit sceptic Silvana Tenreyro has been named as the newest member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, replacing US economist Kristen Forbes who will leave her position at the end of the month.
The LSE economics professor was one of 280 economists who signed a public letter saying it would be a “major mistake” for the UK to leave the European Union, and is well known for being critical of Brexit.
Tenreyro will join the MPC as debate heats up over whether now is the time to raise rates. Her predecessor, Kristen Forbes, was one of three members of the rate-setting committee to vote to raise rates from their current level of 0.25 percent, in one of the closest votes since 2007.
However, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said in a speech in London on Tuesday that “now is not the right time to raise rates“, with slowing wage growth and Brexit negotiations creating too much uncertainty for the UK in the near future.
Tenreyro was appointed by Chancellor Phillip Hammond on Tuesday. She has previously worked as an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston from 2002 to 2004, served on the scientific committee of the Bank of France, and was an external member of the MPC for the Central Bank of Mauritius from 2012 to 2014.
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said he was “delighted to welcome Silvana Tenreyro to the Monetary Policy Committee”, adding:
“Her extensive and varied academic experience – on the monetary transmission mechanism, the dynamics of productivity, trade, housing issues as well as wage dynamics, to name just a few – will be invaluable to the Committee as it seeks to promote the good of the people of the United Kingdom through maintaining monetary stability.”