Arch-dove Blanchflower to stand down from MPC

The man who tried, and failed, to get the Bank of England to cut interest rates faster and sooner in the face of gathering recession, David Blanchflower, is to leave the Monetary Policy Committee when his term ends in May.

Mr Blanchflower voted for rate cuts 14 times before his fellow members agreed that the danger of recession, a collapse in demand and unemployment reaching 2 million by Christmas rendered concerns about inflationary expectations and spiralling wage demands irrelevant.

His outspokenness may not have been appreciated by all of his MPC members, who he accused of "fiddling while Rome burns". He also openly questioned the validity of the Bank's growth forecasts and complained that "they called me bonkers".

Some in the Treasury and elsewhere will be sad to see him leave, and the recent aggressive policy of rate cuts suggests that he comprehensively won the argument. The US-based academic is an expert on the labour market and has made a name for himself in the study of happiness.

The Bank also ann-ounced yesterday that Paul Tucker will take over as Deputy Governor for Financial Stability from Sir John Gieve, who is stepping down in March.

Mr Tucker is currently executive director, markets. He joined the Bank in 1980. His promotion was widely anticipated after his predecessor said during the summer he would stand down before the end of his term. That announcement was embarrassingly leaked during the Lord Mayor's annual banquet, which Sir John attended.

Sir John suffered a series of damning criticisms about his role during the collapse of Northern Rock, when he was on agreed leave of absence from the Bank owing to bereavement.