Corbyn in call for borrowing to fund growth
BRITAIN should not be afraid of debt or borrowing money to fund investment, Jeremy Corbyn has said.
The Labour leader responded to Theresa May’s jibes that he wanted to “bankrupt Britain” by insisting that taking on debt can save money in the long run if it was used to invest.
Mr Corbyn said a Labour Government would provide a “new economic settlement” which would involve investing to support tens of thousands of high- skilled, high- paid, high- productivity jobs.
Urging the Tories to “stop dithering” and start investing, he told the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno: “Last week, the Prime Minister twice accused me of wanting to bankrupt Britain by borrowing money to fund investment.
“But as every businessperson knows there is a world of difference between borrowing for capital spending and borrowing to fund the payroll and day-today trading.
“At the end of the Second World War, the Labour Government didn’t say, ‘oh dear, debt is 250% of GDP – let’s park those grand ideas about public ownership; a National Health Service, or building council homes.
“No. They built a country to be proud of. They established the institutions that made our country fairer.”