A report commissioned by John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, has found that the Bank’s base in the City is “unsatisfactory and leads to regions being underweighted in policy decisions”. The report by GFC Economics and Clearpoint Corporation Management, the consultancies, suggests moving some functions to Birmingham. Labour also would consider whether the Bank’s governor should be based there. The suggestion has been criticised by civil servants and former policymakers at the Bank. Sir Steve Robson, a former Treasury mandarin, dismissed it as “gesture politics”.

Source: The Times December 12, 2017 00:01 UTC