“…an underlying substantial increase in the size of our national debt …has in part been deliberately masked...there will be no long-term solution…until we face up to the record of the Treasury & the Bank as an overdominant force making bad decisions (contributing) to Britain’s economic failures.”
Lord Owen’s analysis of the issues currently facing Britain is set out in a new discussion paper published in March 2023 by the UK’s Institute of Economic Affairs (IAE). ‘Rebuilding Britain: Restoring confidence, competitiveness and compassion’ is the latest in a series of IAE papers designed to “promote discussion of economic issues and the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.”
Key points of Lord Owen’s report include:
- “…What is worrying is the nature of our UK debt and the sense internationally that we may have lost the self-discipline to repay it. That is a legitimate cause for great concern, particularly after the conduct of Liz Truss in her short-lived period as Prime Minister.
- “…Robert Reich argues that in the US (and a similar situation is starting to apply in the UK) there has been a ‘giant half-century switch: the wealthy used to pay higher taxes to the Government. Now the Government pays the wealthy interest on their loans to finance a swelling debt that’s been caused largely by lower taxes on the wealthy.’
- “…The Financial Times in December 2022 warned that the cost of ‘servicing a ballooning interest bill from past borrowing has set the stage for a half decade of bond sales that will dramatically expand – and permanently reshape – the £2tn gilt market.’”
Read Lord Owen’s full paper here
Watch an interview here