Rt Hon Lord Alistair Darling
Former Chancellor of the Exchequer
Alistair Darling served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2007 to 2010, during the most turbulent and far-reaching economic crisis the world had seen for 60 years. He introduced the measures needed to avert a collapse of the banking system, and played a leading part in restoring stability to global financial markets.
Alistair worked as a solicitor in Edinburgh before being called to the Scottish Bar and entering Parliament. He became Chief Secretary to the Treasury in Tony Blair’s first Cabinet, moving to Work & Pensions, then taking joint responsibility for the Scotland Office and the Department of Transport. His final role under Prime Minister Blair was at the helm of Trade & Industry, after which Gordon Brown promoted him to the Treasury.
As Chancellor, Alistair Darling was widely credited with preventing recession from spiralling into a repeat of the Great Depression.
Having left parliament after 28 years, and after leading the campaign to keep Scotland in the UK, Alistair now sits on the board of Morgan Stanley, and writes and broadcasts widely on the UK and world economy.