Adam Lent

If you had told me six months ago that the Secretary of State at BERR would make a speech like this and that that SoS would be Peter Mandelson, I would have bet a considerable amount of money against you.  It’s not been reported much today but this thoughtful speech represents a real shift in the Government’s economic policy towards greater intervention – not just as a short term response to a crisis but as a new way of approaching economic growth in the UK even after the recession has passed.  The fact that it is made by one of the key architects of the policies that have informed the last eleven years, and the head of the Government Department that has always been the biggest obstacle to a pro-active state, makes it all the more significant.  If I find some time soon, I’ll do a more detailed analysis of its possible implications.