Ex-Tory Minister In Short List To Chair UK Competition Regulator

Lord Marland, the former Conservative minister, is in the frame to become the next chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Sky News learned that Lord Marland’s name is among several being circulated within the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy as the government seeks to identify a successor to Lord Tyrie, the former Tory MP.

Sources said the recruitment process for the CMA chairmanship remained “fluid” and that no front runner had so far emerged.

If Lord Marland does become the preferred choice for the job, it would further underline the approach adopted by Boris Johnson’s administration of anointing preferred candidates for key public body chairmanships.

Paul Dacre, the controversial former Daily Mail editor, has been widely reported to be the prime minister’s choice to chair Ofcom, the media regulator, while Richard Sharp, a former Goldman Sachs executive, recently became chairman of the BBC.

Lord Marland, who chairs the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, was a minister in the business and energy departments during David Cameron’s premiership.

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.