Healey appoints manifesto writer Ravinder Athwal as senior adviser, fuelling election speculation
John Healey has poached Ravinder Athwal, the economist behind Labour's 2024 manifesto, as his senior special adviser ahead of the October budget — a move the Guardian says is likely to fuel talk of an early general election.
John Healey has appointed Ravinder Athwal, the economist who wrote Labour’s 2024 manifesto, as his senior special adviser — a move the Guardian reports is likely to fuel speculation about an early general election.
Athwal arrives from the business advisory group Flint Global, previously run by Andy Burnham’s chief of staff, the former Blair-era cabinet minister James Purnell. He is expected in post next week, a month before Healey’s first budget on 28 October — and the chancellor is keen to beef up his team, with the economy buffeted by high oil prices and rising borrowing costs.
A source close to Healey said: “Having Rav join John’s team as an experienced heavyweight economist at the Treasury ahead of this budget will be invaluable. His political nous will add to the special adviser team, providing John with guidance and counsel to the chancellor.”
The appointment lands amid growing Westminster talk that Burnham’s team could consider a snap election after a recent bounce in the polls. Athwal, who helped devise Keir Starmer’s five “missions”, would be a significant asset if Burnham decides to draw up a fresh manifesto.
A Cambridge economics graduate, Athwal was a Treasury civil servant before joining Labour, rising to head of growth strategy, and served as a senior economic adviser in Starmer’s Downing Street team before leaving after a year for Flint Global. One former colleague described him as “nice and clever — a good combination”.
The Guardian reports his arrival may increase concerns among some in Labour that the Treasury’s instinctive caution is fuelling a “continuity Starmer” approach to economics. The manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT helped win the landslide but is widely agreed to have restricted the party’s room for manoeuvre.
Healey faces tough decisions, with inflation and borrowing costs expected to have wiped out at least half of the headroom Rachel Reeves built against Labour’s fiscal rules. Restoring it in full would likely require large tax rises or spending cuts, depending on OBR forecasts; government sources say he wants a “focused” budget after Reeves’s two budgets raised taxes by £70bn a year.
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