In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Maeve Halligan is joined by Kristian Niemietz, Editorial Director and Head of Political Economy, and Daniel Freeman, Managing Editor and Deputy Editorial Director at the IEA.
This week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first speech to Labour Party conference is up for discussion, from his plans to change the triple lock to pay for a National Care Service, to his push for public ownership of water and energy, a new council housebuilding programme and electoral reform.
Has Burnham finally bitten the bullet on the triple lock, and can savings that only arrive by the end of the decade really pay for a care service costing billions from day one? Could anyone make a convincing case for a “new NHS” for social care, and would it mainly end up protecting inheritances at the expense of working taxpayers? The discussion then turns to Burnham’s version of post-war history, asking why the “golden age” of the 1950s and 60s saw Britain fall behind almost every other developed economy, and whether nationalisation would do anything about sewage in our rivers. The discussion closes with the Government’s housing plans, from the myth of empty homes to the claim that Right to Buy caused the housing shortage, and whether proportional representation would make politics any less divisive.
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