Is Sajid Javid's Spending Spree The Return Of The Magic Money Tree?
30 September 2019, 08:36
LBC's Political Editor Theo Usherwood asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his spending spree is the return of the Magic Money Tree.
Sajid Javid is to unveil a host of spending pledges at the Conservative Party Conference, with extra money for roads, buses and broadband.
When asked how he was going to pay for it, he told LBC: "Firstly, it's the strength of the underlying economy, which is very strong, especially when you've got full employment. We're one of the few countries in the industrialised world which has that.
"Secondly, it is the record low interest rates on government debt, where we can borrow today, as a government, for 30 years at negative interest rates in real-terms. And it's sensible to do that as long as we're investing that money sensibly in economic infrastructure, which is exactly what we're doing."
But Theo told him: "The Conservatives have said for the last nine years since you've been in government that you need to get the deficit down - that you couldn't borrow any more money.
"Now you're saying borrowing is ok. It seems almost like the return of the Magic Money Tree."
More to follow...
