Rachel Reeves unveils new economic advisory board to boost UK growth

Rachel Reeves is set to announce the creation of an Economic Advisory Council to lead Labour’s key “national mission” of economic expansion, following the party’s recent landslide victory in the general election.

The council will be chaired by John Van Reenen, a leading innovation expert and former policy adviser in Downing Street during Tony Blair’s tenure. Van Reenen, currently professor at the London School of Economics (LSE), will lead this central body within the Ministry of Finance.

The council will initially consist of four members, including Anna Valero, senior policy officer at the LSE. Valero, known for its expertise in productivity, previously served on Jeremy Hunt’s economic advisory board, which was dissolved last year. She was also among economists who endorsed Labour’s economic strategies in a pre-election letter to The Guardian.

Reeves aims to leverage a wide range of insights from independent experts through the council. She has pledged to initiate a “decade of national renewal” by strengthening the foundations of the economy.

Key appointments to the council include Spencer Thompson, a former economist at the Institute for Public Policy Research, and Neil Amin-Smith, a Cambridge-educated economist and former violinist for the Grammy-winning band Clean Bandit. Thompson has been advising Labor on economic policy since 2020, while Amin-Smith switched to Labor from the Treasury two years ago.

As well as forming the council, Labor is restructuring Whitehall’s activities to fulfill its government agenda. This restructuring includes the creation of “mission delivery boards” with senior figures from business, economics and other specialist fields.