Jeremy Corbyn tells voters anxious about debt from his spending plans they have nothing to worry about
The leader made the comments as he prepared to give his speech to party conference
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.JEREMY Corbyn has said voters worried about increasing debt from Labour’s investment plans have the “wrong” perception.
The Labour leader said his plan to pump billions of pounds of borrowed money into the economy to stoke growth, would bring a greater return in the long run.
He was backed by union boss Len McCluskey today who said more of the country’s GDP growth should end up in the “back pockets” of workers.
It follows a conference in which Mr Corbyn and his allies have repeatedly claimed public support for austerity is dead and that it is time for a different approach to economic governance.
Mr Corbyn was being questioned over his plans to borrow money to set up a National Investment Bank to invest some £100bn across the country and how much it would cost.
It was put to him that some voters had avoided Labour because they were worried about public debt, and he was challenged over whether his plan would not give them “the same perception”.
He answered: “No, because the same perception would be wrong.
“What we’re doing is saying ‘if we are going to deal with the issues that everybody faces in our society…then what the Tories are offering is an intensity of the problems not the solution to them’.”
Explaining his approach, Mr Corbyn said: “At the moment the interest rates are extremely low, so it would not be expensive.
“The return would be enormous because you would be investing in the infrastructure we need and the growing economy that would come back from it.”
In the interview with BBC news, Mr Corbyn accepted that his plan would increase debt in the short term and said the exact borrowing costs are “being looked at”.
Speaking to Sky News, Unite boss Len McCluskey said: “30 years ago, 65% of the wealth that we generated within the economy went into the back pockets of workers, that’s now down to 53%.
“Economists will tell you that’s disastrous for sustainable growth.”
He added: “What businesses, all blue-chip companies that I deal with, what they are desperate for, is investment and a government strategy. Corbyn’s going to give them that.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments