John McDonnell’s endorsement of the Bank of England shows he’s no visionary for the UK economy

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According to the FT this morning:

John McDonnell is to speak out in defence of the independence of the Bank of England after a spate of political attacks on its role.

Labour under Tony Blair “gave the Bank of England independence to stop Tory chancellors leaving monetary policy to the whim of their backbenchers”, the shadow chancellor will say in a speech in London on Thursday as he defends his party's economic record. Gordon Brown made the BoE independent of the Treasury when Labour came to power in 1997.

And you wonder why I could not work for him?

Independent central banks are about giving bankers control; they are about subscribing to the power of markets; they represent a belief in monetary and fiscal policy; they indicate a lack of faith in government. Most of all they represent a failure to believe in democracy, accountability and the duty of a politician to decide.

What John McDonnell is going to do is endorse Ed Balls and this whole approach to economic management.

I can't, and won't.

But this is a lesson to all those who think McDonnell is the power behind some new left wing vision for the UK: he isn't, and he never will be.


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