Nicholas Stern joins growing number backing Miliband, saying he has vision and experience to revive economyA former chief economic adviser to the Treasury has called on Andy Burnh…
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Nicholas Stern joins growing number backing Miliband, saying he has vision and experience to revive economy
A former chief economic adviser to the Treasury has called on Andy Burnham to appoint Ed Miliband as chancellor, arguing the energy secretary has a “bold” vision to revive the economy.
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Nicholas Stern, a professor at the London School of Economics who was a senior figure in the Treasury during Gordon Brown’s tenure, said only Miliband had the experience and the strategic vision to accelerate investment and rebuild public trust in the state’s ability to “get things done”.
Burnham has yet to name who would be his chancellor if he becomes prime minister later this month. Miliband, the former health secretary Wes Streeting and the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, have all been tipped to replace Rachel Reeves as chancellor.
Stern, who is also a former chief economist at the World Bank, joined a growing number of senior academics and officials in calling for Miliband to be handed the keys to No 11 and take control of the government’s £1.4tn annual spending.
“I think of him as competent and strategic. I would also say bold, though I am not using the language of Yes, Minister,” Stern said, referring to the 80s BBC comedy in which civil servants used the word bold as a synonym for rash and foolish.
“I mean bold in the sense that we have to have a clear direction showing where investments need to occur and the ability to explain why it should involve an increase in spending of two or three percentage points of national income.
“That’s the kind of sums we need to invest in clean, efficient and modern infrastructure, particularly around energy, cities and transport. That will be a big part of the growth story – creating the environment in which private capital can flourish and investments in human capital can also flourish.”
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