Macro Minds

Robert Jenrick joined Reform UK and was appointed Treasury Spokesperson (Shadow Chancellor) in February 2026. Jenrick began his career as a corporate solicitor, practising at leading international law firms in London and Moscow, before moving into business as a director at Christie’s. Elected as MP for Newark in 2014, he has held several ministerial and cabinet roles under Conservative governments...

Following Labour’s landslide victory in the 2024 general election, Rachel Reeves was appointed Chancellor by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on 5 July 2024. She is the first woman to hold the office in its 800-year history. Reeves began her career as an economist at the Bank of England before entering politics. Elected as MP for Leeds West in 2010, she held several shadow cabinet roles and was app...

Kallum welcomes Helen Thomas to discuss the implications of the US-Iran deal, the outlook for BoE policy, and the chances and impact of Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham becoming UK prime minister. Helen Thomas is the founder and CEO of BlondeMoney an independent macroeconomic consultancy firm establishedin 2014, focusing on mispriced risks in financial markets across the USA, UK, and EU.  She has ove...

Kallum Pickering welcomes Ben Southwood, founder and editor of Works in Progress, to discuss why Britain’s infrastructure is slow, costly, and unattractive. From nimbyism to gold-plating, they dissect the politics, economics, and aesthetics of construction. Can the situation be fixed? Yes, if Britain can learn from other countries and remember the reasons it used to build well in the past. Before...

Martin is Chief Economist at WPI Strategy. He has over 20 years’ experience covering the UK economy, including as Chief Economic Adviser to the EY ITEM Club, UK economist at Oxford Economics and Capital Economics, and various economics roles during his 10 years at HM Treasury. Martin and Kallum discuss the outlook for the upcoming 26November Budget, the structural and policy factors holding back U...

Kallum Pickering welcomes Anna Leach, IoD Chief Economist, to discuss the economic and policy outlook for the UK. They deep-dive into the causes of the UK’s potential growth decline, why the mood around the UK economy is so pessimistic, the challenges facing the government at the upcoming budget, as well as policy options for improving economic performance. Before joining the IoD Anna was Deputy C...

Kallum Pickering welcomes Dr. Gerard Lyons, veteran cityeconomist, to discuss the economic and policy outlook for China. They cover the impact of rising trade uncertainties, how policymakers are managing domestic structural challenges and the longer-run prospects for China and its ever-growing role in the world economy. The Times has described Dr. Gerard Lyons as ‘one of the mostinfluential analys...

Kallum Pickering once again welcomes Dr. Mickey Levy, Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, long-standingmember of the Shadow Open Market Committee and Wall Street Journal contributor. They discuss the economic and financial market impact of US tariff policy, the risk of crisis in the US Treasuries market, and the outlook for the Federal Reserve. Dr. Levy started his career at the Congression...

Kallum Pickering welcomes Douglas McNeill to discuss the current state of the UK economy, the factors that will shape its long run economic performance - including demographics and AI, and why the post-war 20th century period of rapid productivity growth may not be the right benchmark for shaping future growth hopes. Douglas McNeill was Chief Economic Advisor to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak from 202...

Kallum Pickering welcomes Giles Wilkes to discuss the current state of the UK economy, whether so-called ‘orthodoxy’ at HM Treasury helps or hinders pro-growth policymaking and the government’s industrial strategy Giles is a senior fellow at the Institute for Government and specialist partner at Flint Global. From 2017 to 2019 Giles was special adviser to UK Prime Minister Theresa May and from 201...

Kallum Pickering welcomes Chris Watling, global chief economist and chief market strategist at Longview Economics, to discuss the distortive role of financial liberalisation on housing markets, growth and productivity in advanced economies such as the UK. Their conversation ends with a discussion about the sustainability of the US economic boom and the risks associated with the potential bubble in...

Kallum Pickering welcomes James Nation, Managing Director at Forefront Advisers for UK Politics and a part-time lecturer in comparative politics at Stanford University. They deep-dive into the practical aspects of UK policymaking and how power is distributed between the various branches of government and the civil service. Comparing differences between US and UK, they look at how checks and balanc...

Kallum Pickering welcomes Dr. Mickey Levy, Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, long-standing member of the Shadow Open Market Committee and Wall Street Journal contributor. They discuss the economic policy proposals of US presidential candidates Kamala Harris (Democrat) and Donald Trump (Republican) ahead of the 5 November election and their potential economic and financial market impacts....

Kallum Pickering welcomes Sam Bowman, co-author of 'Foundations - why Britain has stagnated'. They discuss the causes of Britain's economic malaise, how the fixes are mostly obvious and why price signals hold the key to guiding the necessary policy solutions. Sam Bowman is a founding editor of Works in Progress. Previously, he was director of competition policy at the International Center for Law...

Kallum Pickering welcomes Claudia Sahm to discuss the current state of the US economy, why this time is different for her ‘Sahm Rule’, policy challenges facing the US Federal Reserve, positive technology shocks, and the economic implications of the US election. Claudia Sahm is Chief Economist at New Century Advisors and a former Federal Reserve economist. She is the creator of the Sahm Rule, a key...