Vince Cable demands wealth be ‘REDISTRIBUTED’ to young people in shocking Brexit rant
SIR Vince Cable wants the Government to redistribute wealth in the favour of younger people, ahead of the autumn Budget release.
Vince Cable claims Brexit job loss would be a 'big hit'
The Liberal Democrat leader claims a redistribution of wealth between the generations would counter a recent trend which has seen younger people lose out financially to older citizens.
In a speech ahead of this month's autumn Budget, Sir Vince will hit out at the impact of house prices, student debt, job insecurity and reduced pension available to young people, as he unveils Lib Dem plans for a new learning account.
The account would allow students to draw down funds at any time in their lives to pay for education and training.
Sir Vince will also call for a Government which "prioritises economic competence over political dogma" – something which he argues cannot be provided by the "no deal Brexit extremism" of the Conservatives or the "socialism in one country" offered by Jeremy Corbyn's Labour.
Speaking in London, Sir Vince will say: "By common consent, young people have been left behind for too long. There now has to be some form of redistribution between generations to restore the implicit contract in every society between young and old.
"In ours, the spiralling price of property has radically shifted the balance, making home ownership unaffordable for large numbers of younger people.
“Taken together with diminished job security, pension availability and the costs of post-school education, an issue of inter-generational equity has arisen.
"We are developing proposals to create a learning account for young people on their 16th or 18th birthday which they can draw down at any time in life to pay for further and higher education, reskilling and adult learning, as they choose."
Looking ahead to Chancellor Philip Hammond's November 22 Budget, Sir Vince will say that Lib Dem priorities are to free-up capital for investment in homes and infrastructure, to revive the NHS with a targeted injection of cash and to give young people a "leg up" through the learning account, which would be made available in the form of an endowment.
"To do all this, we need a Government which prioritises economic competence over political dogma," he will say.
"A 'no deal' Brexit hangs over forecasts. An environment of radical uncertainty is already spooking business investment and depressing growth in Government revenue.
"Neither the 'no deal' Brexit extremism of the Conservative Party nor the 'socialism in one country' dreamed of by Labour will deliver a successful economy."
The speech will follow remarks made by Sir Vince on BBC News which claimed that City of London will be crippled by a failure to secure an exit deal during Brexit negotiations.
Young people have been left behind for too long
He attempted to defend predictions by the Bank of England, which believes up to 75,000 jobs could be lost in financial services following Brexit but was quickly shut down by the BBC’s chief political correspondent Norman Smith.
Sir Vince said: “It’s a very resilient institution but, of course, we haven’t had Brexit yet.
“The Bank of England estimates of about 75,000 job loses, which I believe is one in 12 of the labour force… The middle of the range numbers that have been talked about, the Chairman of the London Stock Exchange thought we were talking about 200,000, that is the upper end of the range.
“And, this all assumes that, of course, we don’t get an agreement. One of the problems with the so-called World Trade Organisation solution with the hardline Brexiteers wouldn’t protect the services sector, especially financial services.”
Mr Smith was quick to hit back, insisting the predicted job losses would only be a small drop in Britain’s labour market.
He said: “But there are around a million jobs in the financial sector in the UK, 75,000 is a lot but by far from being a blow to the City.
“And, surely it would manage, adapt and continue to grow and perhaps remain, perhaps, the pre-eminent financial in the world.”