Haldane warns Burnham on ‘tax-and-spend socialists with better TikTok videos’
Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane has warned Prime Minister Andy Burnham that markets believe he is presiding over a “traditional tax and spend socialist government with better Tiktok videos”. Haldane, who advised Burnham before he returned to Westminster earlier this year, said the government’s “Achilles’ heel” was its inability to cut public [...]
Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane has cautioned Prime Minister Andy Burnham that markets perceive him to be leading a "traditional tax and spend socialist government with better TikTok videos". Haldane, who recently returned to Westminster, warned that the government's primary challenge lies in curbing public spending.
Markets have shifted from cautious optimism in the summer to studied skepticism in September, focusing on the UK's mounting public debt. Haldane urged the government to reconsider the triple lock pension, which he believes could cost the government up to £40bn annually by 2050, as calculated by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He also recommended addressing pensioner poverty, which has improved since the triple lock's introduction.
Haldane suggested that cutting spending in other areas like the NHS or boosting public sector productivity could provide Burnham and Chancellor John Healey with "instant credibility" and even reduce borrowing costs.
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