Saviour or wrecker? The truth about the Treasury
There is a flattering story that the Treasury likes to tell about itself. Picture the scene in March 2020, Covid spreading fast around the world and countries implementing shutdowns and border closures. Boris Johnson, the prime minister, underestimating the problem, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, dithering. Government ministers praying for a modest death rate before herd immunity kicked in.
Then, from the chaos, emerges someone with a real plan and a crack team: the new chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and behind him, the Treasury, peopled with the top brains of the civil service. “Whatever it takes,” says Sunak, as hundreds of billions of pounds are found and committed to the nation’s safety. The Treasury rolls out an extensive furlough and business support scheme. This ensures that the economy remains afloat while people can stay safe at home.
It’s not the first time a PM has had to be rescued by their chancellor and the Treasury. Back in 1976, when a bankrupt Britain was being bailed out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it was a revamped Treasury that got the public finances under control and restored international confidence in the UK. In 1992, two Tory chancellors, Norman Lamont and Kenneth Clarke, stabilised the economy after John Major’s foolhardy plan to adopt the euro fell apart. Years later, Labour chancellor Gordon Brown stepped in to obstruct Tony Blair’s equally misguided attempt to do the same. He then helped stave off the impact of the dotcom meltdown in 2000 before going on to “save the world” from the great financial crash that began in 2007.
And then there was Brexit. It went against everything the Treasury had believed and worked for. George Osborne tried his best to deter David Cameron from holding
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