After four decades of an economic paradigm which has served the interests of the few, entrenched inequalities and undermined public services our society is crying out for change. At this year’s Labour Party Conference the Progressive Economy Forum hosted a discussion on the economic policies needed for the budget that begins those changes – and ends austerity once and for all.
Patrick Allen (Chair of PEF) introduced the discussion and outlined the overall themes of such a budget, emphasising the need to decarbonise as soon as possible and to invest not just in physical infrastructure but social infrastructure.
Dr Sue Konzelmann (PEF Council member and Reader in Management at Birkbeck University) spoke on the new PEF and PRIME book Rethinking Britain: Policy Ideas for the Many (Policy Press, September 2019). Clive Lewis MP (Shadow Minister for Sustainable Economics) spoke on his work developing a radical and green economic policy for the Labour Party.
This was followed by Professor Stephany Griffith-Jones (PEF Council member and Financial Markets Director at the Initiative for Policy Dialogue) who emphasised the role a National Investment Bank could play in mobilising the finance needed to decarbonise the economy. Danny Dorling (PEF Council member and Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography, University of Oxford) spoke on the role high rates of taxation on the wealthy could play in bringing about a more equal distribution of wealth. Guy Standing (PEF Council member and Honorary Co-President of BIEN) then gave a contribution in which he highlighted the vast cost of tax reliefs.
The discussion was concluded with a contribution from John McDonnell MP (Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer) who commended PEF’s work and spoke about the economic programme he outlined during his conference speech. John McDonnell reiterated his support for running pilots of basic income and highlighted his plans for shorter working hours, influenced by the report we recently published on the same subject.
Photo credit: Flickr/Sheila Sund.