We believe in private enterprise, but we do not subscribe to the view that there should be no economic regulation by the state. We would pursue a policy of Economic Nationalism. In particular, we do not believe in unrestricted international trade when it has plainly destroyed much of our manufacturing industry. We would seek the rebuilding of our manufacturing industry with state assistance if necessary. Globalisation – the free movement of goods, services and even people around the world can have only one result: that all wage levels throughout the world will approximate to the same level.
Macroeconomic policy must be based on the principle that what is physically possible must be financially possible; otherwise, there is something wrong with the financial system. This means that if there are unemployed workers and unsatisfied needs that they could fulfil, the financial system must facilitate the satisfaction of those needs.
The current financial system is one in which much of the money supply is created by private banks based on the banks’ need to make a profit rather than the needs of the economy. The quantity and form of money in circulation must be under the control of the Bank of England, which must be independent of the government of the day.
The ways in which governments of different political persuasions try to reduce unemployment and restore business activity are many and varied. Both the Keynesian and Friedman approaches are flawed. We need a system that quickly causes activity to return without causing inflation by precipitate increases in demand. We need to produce reflation without inflation.