Chancellor hails union chief Paul Nowak being appointed to key Bank of England job... days after he demanded tax raid on City

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 11:38 EDT, 16 September 2026 | Updated: 12:04 EDT, 16 September 2026 The Chancellor today hailed a firebrand union chief being installed to a key job on the Bank of England.John Healey said drafting in TUC boss Paul Nowak as a non-executive director would add 'deep and varied experience' at Threadneedle Street.The announcement was made almost immediately after Mr Nowak used the unions' annual conference to demand a tax raid on banks at the Budget.Union leaders have routinely held part-time non-executive posts on the BoE's Court since it was nationalised 80 years ago. Duties include responsibility for oversight of the organisation's governance and strategy.Mr Nowak will be paid £20,000 a year for working around three days a month. John Healey said drafting in TUC boss Paul Nowak (pictured) as a non-executive director would add 'deep and varied experience' at Threadneedle StreetMr Nowak replaces his predecessor at the TUC, Frances O'Grady, who has been non-executive director since being appointed under Tory Chancellor Philip Hammond in 2019. Mr Healey said today: 'These appointments strengthen the Court at a critical moment for the UK economy, providing deep and varied experience to support the Bank in delivering its core missions of monetary and financial stability.' David Roberts, Chair of Court, said the new appointments would bring 'considerable insight and experience that will aid the Court in executing on our responsibilities'. Non-executive directors are appointed for four-year terms. The BoE's website says there are up to nine and one is 'traditionally from a trade union'. Other prominent union chiefs to serve on the Court include Brendan Barber, Dave Prentis and Bill Morris.In a tub-thumping speech at the TUC in Brighton earlier this week, Mr Nowak urged Andy Burnham to stand up to big banks and the super-rich.'The new Prime Minister has already started to give breathing space to families and businesses, but to deliver the circuit breaker he has promised the British public, Andy Burnham is going to have to be prepared to face down vested interests,' he said.'I simply say this to the Prime Minister: ignore every single one of them. They don't care about British workers. They don't care about public services. They only care about themselves and their bottom line.'If union-busting tech billionaires can blast their popstar mates into space, then they can pay more tax.'If water companies can't provide basic services because they've paid out huge dividends for decades, then bring them back into public ownership.'Mr Nowak said Britain's big four banks are making more than £1billion a week, and taxing them more would help bring down energy bills.Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said: 'The last thing our country needs is a trade union leader helping to run the Bank of England.'If it wasn't obvious who is driving this Labour government's agenda, this should give you a good idea.'Labour are taking us back to the 1970s with their high-tax, high-spend agenda - just as Burnham's own former economic adviser Andy Haldane admitted.'Reform deputy leader Richard Tice said: 'This is staggering. Our socialist Chancellor has dished out a big Bank of England finance job to a socialist union boss who knows nothing about finance.'Clearly, trade union donations not only buy your way into government policymaking, but also onto the Bank of England's board. This is cronyism in plain sight.' The Chancellor is preparing for a Budget where Mr Nowak has insisted he should tax banks