John McDonnell says Labour have been war-gaming how to cope with the markets in the event of a Corbyn victory and a run on the pound. He was evasive about what he meant, however this weekend’s Young Labour conference has given us a massive clue.
Conference passed a motion on “Capital Controls and Financial Sector Regulation”, proposed by Oxford Uni Labour’s Michael Muir – last heard of during the “Zio” row. The motion laments the failure of SYRIZA in Greece to implement a socialist programme because it was “curtailed by massive and politically-orientated capital flight.”
The solution according to Young Labour is for McDonnell to take direct control of monetary policy away from the Bank of England and introduce capital controls to better reflect “the balance of class forces”. You will have to get permission from the state to take money out of the country. This is the classic left-wing solution to capital flight, rather than make the country attractive to investors they instead try to imprison investment. It ends badly every time.
Perhaps Young Labour’s millenials don’t realise the effects it will have on them personally. In the 70s you could only take £50 per person on holiday. Working families holidays in Benidorm – you won’t be able to go large in the bars. Ibiza? Forget cocktails in Pascha. Buying the latest electronic gadgets on Amazon from overseas – sorry. Nan’s retirement holiday home – forget it. That year long gap yah? Nah.
The “socialism in one country” idea hasn’t worked well in Venezuela, and the cost has been a massive loss of freedom. The eternal truth is that “to be controlled in our economic pursuits is to be controlled in everything.”
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