The Mais Lecture has been hosted since 1978, on a mostly annual basis, by Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), part of City, University of London.[1]

The lecture is named in honour of Lord Mais, the 645th Lord Mayor of the City of London (1972–73), and Pro-Chancellor of City University (1979–84). He played a key role in establishing City University's Centre of Excellence for Banking and Finance, now the Centre for Banking Research, part of the wider Bayes Faculty of Finance.

The lecture is regarded as a leading event for the banking and finance community of the City of London, having hosted a number of prestigious speakers including successive Prime Ministers, Chancellors of the Exchequer, and Governors of the Bank of England, and notably the forum in which successive Chancellors and Shadow Chancellors have set out their economic philosophy and policies.

Notable milestones

In January 2021 Anneliese Dodds, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, became the first woman to deliver the Mais Lecture.

In March 2026 Rachel Reeves, delivered an unprecedented second Mais Lecture – almost precisely two years to the day after her first – this time as Chancellor, having been Shadow Chancellor at the time of her first. In a further family connection, her husband, Nicholas Joicey, was speechwriter for Gordon Brown when the Chancellor delivered his Mais Lecture in 1999.[2]

Eight of the 15 Chancellors since its inception have delivered a Mais Lecture, including all three Labour Chancellors.[3]

While three Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom have delivered the Mais Lecture, Tony Blair is the only one who was neither Chancellor nor Shadow Chancellor when he did so.[4]

Mark Carney delivered his Mais Lecture in 2014, while he was Governor of the Bank of England, he subsequently became Prime Minister of Canada in 2025.[5]

List of Mais Lectures

LectureDateDelivered byTitle
First9 Feb 1978Gordon RichardsonReflections on the Conduct of Monetary Policy[6]
SecondNov 1979Lionel RobbinsObjectives of Monetary Policy: Past and Present
ThirdMay 1981Geoffrey HoweThe Fight Against Inflation
FourthMar 1983Friedrich HayekScience and Ethics
Fifth18 Jun 1984Nigel LawsonThe British Experiment[7][8][9]
SixthMay 1986Roy JenkinsThe International Finance Scene: Can Sense be Plucked Out of Danger
SeventhMay 1987Robin Leigh-PembertonThe Instruments of Monetary Policy
EighthMay 1988Michel CamdessusThe IMF in a Changing World
NinthMay 1989Samuel BrittanA Restatement of Economic Liberalism
TenthMay 1990Gordon PepperMonetary Policy: A Post-Mortem and Proposal
EleventhMay 1992Erik HoffmeyerEconomic and Monetary Union: The Case for Central Bank Independence
TwelfthJun 1993Peter LilleyBenefits and Costs: Securing and Future of Social Security
ThirteenthMay 1994Kenneth ClarkeThe Changing World of Work in the 1990s
Fourteenth22 May 1995Tony BlairThe Economic Framework for New Labour[10][9]
FifteenthOct 1996Michael HeseltineAchieving Competitiveness in a Global Economy
Sixteenth24 Jun 1997Edward GeorgeMonetary Policy in Britain and Europe[11][12]
SeventeenthMay 1998Hans TietmeyerFinancial and Monetary Integration: Benefits, Opportunities, and Pitfalls
Eighteenth19 Oct 1999Gordon BrownThe Conditions for Full Employment[13]
NineteenthMay 2000Jonathan SacksMarkets, Governments, and Virtues
TwentiethMay 2001Valery Giscard d'EstaingThe New European Debate: The Euro-zone and the Greater Europe
Twenty-firstApr 2003Ernst WeltekeReflections on European Monetary Policy[14]
Twenty-second12 May 2004Otmar IssingThe Euro: the First Five Years[15]
Twenty-third17 May 2005Mervyn KingMonetary Policy: Practice Ahead of Theory[16][17][18]
Twenty-fourth29 Oct 2008Alistair DarlingChancellor Reveals His Plans to Maintain Economic Stability[19][20][21][22]
Twenty-fifth13 May 2009Axel A. WeberReflections on the Financial Crisis[23]
Twenty-sixth24 Feb 2010George OsborneA New Economic Model[24][25][26][27][28][29][30]
Twenty-seventh13 Jul 2011Paul VolckerThe World of Finance and the National Interest[31][32][33]
Twenty-eighth8 May 2012Patrick HonohanThe Experience of Financial Integration – Ireland, Britain, Europe[34][35][36]
Twenty-ninth18 Mar 2014Mark CarneyOne Mission. One Bank. Promoting the Good of the People of the United Kingdom.[37][38][39]
Thirtieth7 Oct 2015Olivier BlanchardRethinking Macro (Stabilisation) Policy[40][41][42]
Thirty-first12 Jun 2017Brian GriffithsRestoring Trust in the Banking System[43][44][45][46][47][48]
Thirty-second29 Oct 2018José Manuel BarrosoThe European Union and the Changing International Landscape[49][50]
Thirty-third13 Jan 2021Anneliese DoddsThe challenges of the post-Covid, post-Brexit UK economy – a response [delivered virtually][51][52][53][54]
Thirty-fourth24 Feb 2022Rishi SunakA new culture of enterprise[55][56][57]
Thirty-fifth5 Jun 2023Odile Renaud-BassoHow to green the global economy[58][59][60]
Thirty-sixth19 Mar 2024Rachel ReevesEconomic Growth in an Age of Insecurity[61][62][63][64][65]
Thirty-seventh27 Mar 2025Isabel SchnabelFinancial literacy and monetary policy transmission[66][67][68][69]
Thirty-eighth17 Mar 2025Rachel ReevesThe Active and Strategic State[70][71]

See also

References

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  2. ^ "Nicholas Joicey - Newzire". 2026-01-30. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
  3. ^ "Mais Lecture Series | Bayes Business School". www.bayes.citystgeorges.ac.uk. 2026-02-24. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
  4. ^ "Mais well talk about the economy". POLITICO. 2024-03-19. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
  5. ^ "Mark Carney's Liberal Party wins Canadian election". BBC Newsround. 2025-04-29. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
  6. ^ "Reflections on the conduct of monetary policy - the first Mais lecture". www.bankofengland.co.uk
  7. ^ "Economic policy: The British Experiment (The Mais Lecture) | Margaret Thatcher Foundation". www.margaretthatcher.org
  8. ^ "The Mais lecture: ten years on | LSE Digital Library". digital.library.lse.ac.uk
  9. ^ Skidelsky, Robert. "Bring back Keynes"
  10. ^ "Blair shadows Tories with inflation pledge". The Independent. May 23, 1995.
  11. ^ "The Sixteenth Mais Lecture - speech by Edward George". www.bankofengland.co.uk
  12. ^ "Info". www.bankofengland.co.uk. 1997. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  13. ^ HM Treasury, e-Comms Team (June 12, 2001). "Delivering economic stability, speech by Ed Balls, Chief Economic Adviser to the Treasury". webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Archived from the original on April 7, 2010. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  14. ^ "Policy Makers on Policy | the Mais Lectures | Taylor & Francis Group". Archived from the original on 2019-10-13. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
  15. ^ "The ECB and the euro - the first five years". European Central Bank
  16. ^ "Info". www.bankofengland.co.uk. 2005. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
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  19. ^ Cohen, Norma (2008-10-29). "Darling calls end to fiscal rules". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  20. ^ "Darling: tax may rise in downturn". The Independent. October 30, 2008.
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  31. ^ Armitstead, Louise (July 14, 2011). "Volcker: Vickers has 'missed' big bank problem". – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
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  33. ^ Skinner, Chris M. (July 15, 2011). "Volcker versus Vickers, Round One". Chris Skinner's blog
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  44. ^ "Programme". theceme.org. 2017. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  45. ^ "Lord Griffiths at Cass: Restoring Trust in the Banking System, Mais Lecture 2017". – via www.youtube.com.
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  47. ^ "Lord Griffiths: Restoring Trust in the Banking System". May 26, 2017.
  48. ^ "Speech". www.bankofengland.co.uk. 2017. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
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  51. ^ Giles, Chris (2021-01-21). "Labour signals end of Corbyn era in setting out economic vision". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
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  54. ^ "Annelises Dodds | Mais Lecture 2021", retrieved 2022-02-20
  55. ^ HM Treasury (2022-02-24). "Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Mais Lecture 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  56. ^ Elliott, Larry (2022-02-20). "We know little about the real Rishi Sunak … but that may change this week". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
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  59. ^ Blakey, Douglas (5 June 2023). "Dramatic changes needed to rules governing economic markets: Odile Renaud-Basso". Retail Banker International. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
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  62. ^ "Rachel Reeves Mais Lecture 2024". The Labour Party. 2024-03-19. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  63. ^ Riley-Smith, Ben (2024-03-18). "Britain faces 1979 moment, says Rachel Reeves". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  64. ^ "Rachel Reeves: New chapter ahead, shadow chancellor promises business". BBC News. 2024-03-19. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
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  66. ^ Schnabel, Isabel (27 March 2025). "Financial literacy and monetary policy transmission". European Central Bank
  67. ^ Schnabel, Isabel (1 April 2025). "Financial literacy and monetary policy transmission". Bank for International Settlements
  68. ^ Giles, Chris (2025-04-01). "The unmistakable whiff of stagflation on the eve of tariff day". Financial Times. Retrieved 2025-04-01.
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