Chancellor George Osborne starts second round interviews for BoE Governor The Chancellor is expected to grill each candidate in the final stages of a process that insiders said was "far closer than you think." Paul Tucker, the deputy governor, is widely considered the favourite. However, sources say senior staff in the Treasury and the Bank itself are lobbying for Lord Burns, chairman of Santander, to be appointed instead. The shortlist also includes Sir John Vickers, chairman of the Independent Commission on Banking; Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority; and Sharon Bowles, the Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament. Mr Tucker is odds-on favourite to succeed Sir Mervyn King, who is retiring next year. One source said: "Tucker may be in the lead at the bookies, but he is not the choice of people in the Bank or the Treasury. Tucker's management style has grated with lots of the Bank's senior management. Burns is highly respected in the Treasury where he's well-known, too. He's dark horse in the race. Lord Burns was Permanent Secretary to the Treasury when Gordon Brown was Chancellor and Ed Balls was a special adviser. The son of coal miner, he trained as an economist and is known to be respected by Mr Osborne. The source said the "only obvious downside" is Lord Burns" age - he is 68. Ideally the Chancellor would like to appoint someone for two terms [eight years] but plenty are arguing it would be worth having Burns just for four anyway. Another insider said Sir John Vickers and Lord Turner are falling behind in the running while Ms Bowles is still considered the firm outsider. The Chancellor has "kept the field wide open" even in the final stages. He is expected to make a decision and then an announcement either on or around the Autumn statement, scheduled for December 5. The Treasury declined to comment.