Chancellor Rachel Reeves has appointed David Sturrock to the Council of Economic Advisers, adding fresh analytical capacity to the Treasury’s growth mission under the Plan for Change. The announcement was published on Wednesday 29 October 2025 and lands less than a month before the Autumn Budget on Wednesday 26 November 2025 - timing that suggests Sturrock’s evidence-led approach will be in the room as decisions are finalised.

Sturrock joins from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, where he served as Senior Researcher and Associate Director with a focus on intergenerational inequality, retirement saving and pensions. His earlier career includes time as an economist at HM Treasury; his academic work examines how rising house prices and inheritances shape inequality, and he is undertaking doctoral research at UCL.

Terms of reference published by HM Treasury set a one‑year appointment from 20 October 2025 to 20 October 2026, with the option to extend. The document confirms he will serve both as an Economic Adviser to the Chancellor and as a council member, working closely with officials and special advisers; it also notes that conflict‑of‑interest checks have been completed.

This fits a wider refresh of the Chancellor’s advisory bench. On 1 September, HM Treasury appointed LSE’s Professor John Van Reenen as a part‑time growth adviser for a 12‑month term. Over the summer, The Guardian reported adjustments across the advisory set‑up as academics returned to campus roles, prompting the Treasury to add further capacity ahead of the Budget.

For investors, the signal is about emphasis rather than immediate market moves. Sturrock’s IFS work on wealth transfers, pensions and the distributional effects of housing costs points to careful attention on incentives for long‑term saving and how policy affects different age cohorts. Those are live questions for any growth strategy.

Near term, keep an eye on any pre‑Budget papers or consultations touching pension saving design, ISA rules or measures linked to housing supply and intergenerational fairness. Treat this as a planning watchlist-useful for scenario‑testing cashflows and benefits communication-until the 26 November Budget sets the direction.

The takeaway for our readers: this is a personnel move with limited short‑term price impact, but it clarifies the lens the Treasury wants to apply-patient capital formation and who gains across generations. We’ll be looking for the council’s fingerprints in the Red Book on 26 November and in how Plan for Change priorities are framed thereafter.