Douglas Carswell's Blog

Continuity Brown must end before the economy can recover

Despite all the talk of change, when it comes to economic policy the current government has pretty much carried on where Gordon Brown left off. 

As Fraser Nelson puts it in his brilliant article in today’s Telegraph “The list of undead Brownite policies lingering in the Treasury is long and ignominious.”

The Coalition – despite the spin – continues to borrow on a Gordonian scale. "A Government that is widely regarded as radical, and hawkish on the deficit, is making virtually no economic progress, while running up the debt like there’s no tomorrow”.  Indeed.  During this Parliament, we will borrow more than the last Chancellor managed over thirteen years. 

Under this government, just like the last, the Bank of England has been encouraged to print money recklessly and conjure up candy floss credit. The sugar rush has yet to produce real growth.

The economy is flat lining as though Gordon Brown was in charge because the economic thinking from his era still pervades the Treasury.

“Where are the Conservative ideas?” asks Fraser.

Too often, ministers have simply looked to the Treasury mandarinate to provide them with the range of policy options from which they then make choices. Instead of bringing change, they have become spokesmen for failed Treasury thinking.

There are new ideas out there, but the Coalition provides a ready-made excuse to ignore any of the suggestions that we might do things differently. 

So where is the supply-side boldness? Where is the growth strategy? Where is the strategic radicalism, rather than the tactical tinkering? 

Instead of ministerial mangerialism, the Treasury needs to get much bolder. They won’t be until they start doing more than simply recycling failed Treasury thinking.

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