IT is one thing to expose government’s policies and its incompetence and oppose the attacks on living standards, workers’ rights and welfare provisions, and it is another to come up with the policies that will take the country forward.

It is important to raise our ambitions above the relentless day-to-day struggle to defend pay, conditions and democratic rights — as important as these are — for perpetual defence leads to permanent subjugation. The time is ripe for the working class to stamp its authority on the situation and make politicians dance to our tune.

The crisis that plagues capitalism today is different from those of the 1970s, ‘80s or ‘90s. Capitalism is no longer upbeat with an all-conquering globalisation poised to take over the world, smashing national borders and crashing all opposition in the name of profit.

Today, capitalism is relying on what, only recently, would have been regarded as socialist measures: unprecedented government intervention, from the furlough that paid the wages of workers to the energy price cap.

Just as an addict, who, having been forced into rehab, continues to hunker for a good guzzling of the old stuff, Liz Truss’s government went wild bingeing on the old witch’s brew of pure free-market elixir. The market, on behalf of the capitalist system, acknowledging neoliberal policies are no longer viable, revolted, forcing the prime minister to quit.

How things develop from now on will depend to a large extent on workers developing a solid and viable industrial and financial strategy for the future. Aspirations and a wish list of demands will not suffice.

To this end, Rebuild Britain is promoting a two-pronged plan, an industrial and manufacturing plan, and a plan for socially responsible financial structures; without the latter, the former will be reliant on the mood of private finance.

Rebuild Britain has produced a pamphlet, Rebuild British Manufacturing – A Strategy for Revival, outlining the steps which need to be taken to reverse the process of de-industrialisation and decay.

This was complemented by Government Spending and Debt – a New Approach, advocating a socially responsible finance to provide the necessary sound and stable financial framework that breaks out of over-reliance on the good will of private financial institutions.

Industry and manufacture

Industrialisation has been the basis of developing modern economies sustaining high living standards across the world. Setting aside certain mineral-rich countries — the oil producers — the richer economies have each developed a vital manufacturing base.

Britain was the first to industrialise, followed by Germany, the US, Japan, France, Italy and others in the 19th century, and by the Soviet Union and China, among others, in the 20th century.

Britain has been moving in the opposite direction for several decades, cascading down a doomed path of deindustrialisation with manufacturing capacity and millions of jobs being destroyed and with a massive and growing surge of imports filling the vacuum left by the disappearance of vast swathes of British industry.

The balance of trade in manufactures has fallen from a surplus some 50 years ago to a gigantic deficit. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has described the deficit on trade just in motor manufacture as “a chasm.” The smaller surplus in services and finance is dwarfed by the goods deficit.

A new and substantial government regime of industrial and regional economic aid must be established to begin to rebuild the industrial base. Where necessary, measures of public ownership should be adopted especially where vital industries are under threat. Much will need to be done to substantially increase investments both in capital equipment and skills.

A new commission for industry to oversee the process of rebuilding should be established with government, employers and trade unions all represented.

Socially responsible finance

Underpinning everything must be sound money. Workers know that plans to invest in industry, nationalise public utilities and increased funding on the NHS and social services will falter unless they are underpinned by a sustainable and effective financial structure.

Borrowing from the private sector has landed us with a national debt of £2.38 trillion with an annual payment of £83 billion in interest alone. Kwarteng’s mini-Budget added £190bn raising servicing charges even further.

Listening to the governor of the Bank of England, one is forgiven for thinking that the “market” is a natural phenomenon, much like the jet stream, upon which we have no control. The “markets” are viewed in the same way as ancient Greeks viewed their gods; gods who must forever be appeased with sacrifices.

But the markets are socio-economic constructs that can be, and to some extent already are, controlled through such regulation as the percentage of reserves banks must deposit with the Bank of England. These regulations can be widened and strengthened and private finance tamed and directed.

Rebuild Britain argues for a socially responsible public expenditure in which private lending is restricted and curtailed, with the Bank of England picking up the slack by funding the government directly.

This has the advantage of loosening the stranglehold of private finance while at the same time avoiding inflationary pressures. Regulation already exists for that purpose. It can be strengthened to include restrictions on the amount and purpose of private lending and investment.

Immediately, exchange controls must be reintroduced (they were abolished soon after Thatcher entered Downing Street), with strict controls on capital flows across British national borders, thus facilitating the management of the exchange rate at levels appropriate to national economic needs.

Furthermore, the government must use its powers of public purchasing at every level to favour British producers and legislate to achieve this.

Other measures include the creation of a national investment bank and the setting up of public banks. The idea of a national investment bank is not a new one. It has formed part of Labour’s manifestos including those of the 1983 and 2017 general elections. The private financial system has proven inadequate for the purposes of much of the British economy.

Public or public-sector banks were prominent in the 19th and early 20th century, helping economies in various parts of the world to industrialise. Today they are needed since private finance has become more and more unreliable and unstable forever requiring state aid to survive.

It defies common sense that financial institutions that rely on the state for their existence should be allowed to function independently of the state. With a social responsibility remit, public banks could play a major role in implementing the government’s strategy for economic and industrial advance.

Download the pamphlets or request a hard copy from www.rebuildbritain.org.uk.