Former Chancellor Sajid Javid on why government must not go back to austerity
23 June 2020, 10:10
Former Chancellor Sajid Javid on why government must not go back to austerity
Sajid Javid has told LBC that the government must not go back to austerity measures to recoup spending from the coronavirus pandemic.
Boris Johnson is set to announce how he plans to get the service industry back up and running following lockdown.
Mr Javid spoke to Nick Ferrari to reveal his ideas for how to get the economy going - and he insisted the government must not go down the route of spending cuts again.
He said: "I believe that the one thing that makes the economy grow hasn't changed because of this crisis - that is a free enterprise, free trading, low tax, sensibly-regulated economy.
"Those are the principles that underlie the report. We talk about the importance of temporary tax cuts - VAT, employers' National Insurance, infrastructure investment.
"When it comes to paying for all of that, now would be the wrong time, in the middle of this economic crisis, to have austerity and cut-backs in spending."
Nick asked him where exactly the money will be coming from. Mr Javid told him: "The government is having to borrow record amounts from the markets and also with the help of the Bank of England.
"That is the right one at a time like this.
"When you have record low interest rates, that is sustainable for now, not for the very long term. It's right to borrow now to support the economy.
"But what the objective should be now is to generate growth and jobs, because eventually that's what will pay for the public finances to get back into balance."
