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New Labour to blame for creating unfair tax system, says McDonnell Jeremy Corbyn calls for new economics to tackle 'grotesque inequality'
(about 2 hours later)
The Blair and Brown governments created an unfair tax system that made Britain a haven for the super-rich, according to the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, who vowed that Labour would rewrite the rules of the economy when the party regained power. Jeremy Corbyn said the UK needed a serious debate about wealth creation, as he called for a new style of economics to tackle Britain’s “grotesque inequality”.
Speaking at the party’s state of the economy conference in central London on Saturday, McDonnell said Labour must aspire to be another great reforming government. Closing a Labour state of the economy conference in central London on Saturday, the party’s leader said: “Wealth creation is a good thing: we all want greater prosperity. But let us have a serious debate about how wealth is created, and how that wealth should be shared.”
“The last Labour government relied too heavily on tax revenues from financial services, and too heavily on off-balance sheet spending through the private finance initiative,” he said. “It didn’t do enough to clamp down on tax evasion and avoidance. It helped create an unfair tax system.” Corbyn also said a Labour government would “chase down the tax avoiders and the tax evaders” and ensure HMRC had the resources it needed to do so.
Labour needed to be ambitious and bold to win the next election, he said. In the meantime, he insisted that the party could make a difference despite the frustrations of being in opposition: “We must continue to stand up against the Conservative six-year record of mismanagement of the economy – and stand up for the vital services on which we all depend.”
George Osborne had vowed six years ago that austerity would wipe out the deficit, Corbyn said. “That’s the wonderful thing about George Osborne’s five-year plans: they’re always five years away.”
Shopfloor-workers, entrepreneurs and technicians should be put in the driving seat, the Labour leader said.
Related: Would a rent cap work for tenants facing £1,000-a-month rises?Related: Would a rent cap work for tenants facing £1,000-a-month rises?
“We want to see a genuinely mixed economy of public and social enterprise, alongside a private sector with a long-term private business commitment, that will provide the decent pay, jobs, housing, schools, health and social care of the future. Labour will always seek to distribute the rewards of growth more fairly. But to deliver that growth demands real change in the way the economy is run,” Corbyn said.
Earlier on Saturday, shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the Blair and Brown governments had created an unfair tax system that made Britain a haven for the super-rich and that Labour would rewrite the rules of the economy.
McDonnell said the party must aspire to be another great reforming government when it returned to power.
“The last Labour government relied too heavily on tax revenues from financial services, and too heavily on off-balance sheet spending through the private finance initiative,” he said. “It didn’t do enough to clamp down on tax evasion and avoidance. It helped create an unfair tax system.”
To help solve the housing crisis, McDonnell said a Labour government would give councils the power to impose rent controls. The party’s former leader Ed Miliband said before the 2015 general election that landlords should only be able to raise rents by less than inflation for the duration of a contract.To help solve the housing crisis, McDonnell said a Labour government would give councils the power to impose rent controls. The party’s former leader Ed Miliband said before the 2015 general election that landlords should only be able to raise rents by less than inflation for the duration of a contract.
McDonnell reiterated the party’s plan to build 100,000 new council houses a year, funded from housing benefit savings. He urged councils to emulate Manchester to offer cheap, local authority-backed mortgages.McDonnell reiterated the party’s plan to build 100,000 new council houses a year, funded from housing benefit savings. He urged councils to emulate Manchester to offer cheap, local authority-backed mortgages.
Related: Osborne's focus on UK's deficit deters scrutiny of his weak economic plan
“Labour would make it a mission to ensure families and young people on ordinary incomes aren’t locked out of home ownership as they are under the Tories,” McDonnell said.“Labour would make it a mission to ensure families and young people on ordinary incomes aren’t locked out of home ownership as they are under the Tories,” McDonnell said.
Labour has drawn up a fiscal credibility rule in conjunction with economists from its economic advisory council. It aims to close the deficit on day-to-day spending over a five-year period as well as ensuring the government can invest.Labour has drawn up a fiscal credibility rule in conjunction with economists from its economic advisory council. It aims to close the deficit on day-to-day spending over a five-year period as well as ensuring the government can invest.
McDonnell accused Britain’s banks of continuing to pump money into the property market while failing to invest in the “productive economy”.McDonnell accused Britain’s banks of continuing to pump money into the property market while failing to invest in the “productive economy”.
There was a need to change the way capitalism in Britain worked, he told the audience: “Previous Labour governments were content to only think about how to redistribute income. Today, technological change means we have to think more closely about ownership.There was a need to change the way capitalism in Britain worked, he told the audience: “Previous Labour governments were content to only think about how to redistribute income. Today, technological change means we have to think more closely about ownership.
“I’ve spoken before of moving beyond the Tory right to buy and creating a Labour right to own. This can be at the centre of our offer to Britain – a radical decentralisation of economic power and authority back to working people and local communities.”“I’ve spoken before of moving beyond the Tory right to buy and creating a Labour right to own. This can be at the centre of our offer to Britain – a radical decentralisation of economic power and authority back to working people and local communities.”
Jeremy Corbyn will address the conference on Saturday afternoon and will tell big business that Labour will “always seek to distribute the rewards of growth more fairly”.
Shopfloor-workers, entrepreneurs and technicians should be put in the driving seat, the Labour leader will say as he calls for a “new economics”.
Related: Osborne's focus on UK's deficit deters scrutiny of his weak economic plan
Corbyn will say “bold and ambitious” action must be taken to build a fairer economy: “Building an economy for the future requires bold ambition – a new economics.”
“We want to see a break with the failed economic orthodoxy that has gripped policy makers for a generation. And set out a clear vision for a Labour government that will create an economy that works for all, not just the few,” Corbyn will say.
“We want to see a genuinely mixed economy of public and social enterprise, alongside a private sector with a long-term private business commitment, that will provide the decent pay, jobs, housing, schools, health and social care of the future.
“Labour will always seek to distribute the rewards of growth more fairly. But to deliver that growth demands real change in the way the economy is run.
“Only an economy that is run for all wealth creators – the technicians, entrepreneurs, designers, shopfloor workers, and the self-employed – and that puts them in the driving seat is going to deliver prosperity for all.”
The economists Ha-Joon Chang and Jonathan Portes along with Adam Marshall, acting director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce, and the Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey, are all expected to attend the conference.