Former Bank of England rate-setter Professor Jonathan Haskel has been confirmed as the next Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility, the UK’s independent fiscal watchdog, after the House of Commons Treasury Committee approved the Chancellor’s nomination.
The OBR announced the appointment via its verified social media account, confirming that Haskel — a Professor of Economics at Imperial College Business School — was nominated by the Chancellor in June 2026 and has now cleared the pre-appointment scrutiny process required for senior economic oversight roles.
Haskel served as an external member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee until 2023, where he contributed to decisions on UK interest rates against the 2 per cent CPI inflation target. His academic work centres on productivity and intangible assets — software, research and development, and intellectual property — and he is recognised as an advocate of investment-driven economic growth. As OBR Chair, he’ll lead the body’s independent forecasts for the economy and public finances, produced at least twice each financial year at events such as Budgets and Autumn Statements.
The timing matters. Public sector net debt stood at around £2.7 trillion — just over 100 per cent of GDP — in early 2026, according to Office for National Statistics figures, and the OBR’s own forecasts point to continued pressure from ageing populations, health spending and debt interest costs. The body was established in 2010 specifically to counter optimism bias in official forecasts, and its assessments directly shape the tax, spending and borrowing decisions that flow down to local authorities, businesses and households.
For Kent, that’s not abstract. Kent County Council and Medway Council both rely on central government settlements built on OBR growth and inflation projections. Changes to income tax, National Insurance, fuel duty or public sector pay — all influenced by OBR analysis — land directly on Kent residents’ pay slips and business accounts.
Haskel’s specialism in intangible investment and productivity could shape how the OBR models long-term growth prospects, which in turn affects the fiscal space available for national infrastructure spending — including on Kent’s roads, rail links, and port and border infrastructure. But whether his academic focus translates into any shift in the OBR’s forecasting approach is unclear; he has not yet overseen a full forecast round, and any specific projections attributed to his tenure at this stage are unverified.
Source: @OBR_UK