Tuesday, 9 June 2009

My radical plan

Fraser Nelson documents the remarkable exchange that took place this morning on the Today programme.
David Miliband is talking of the need for "radical change"to James Naughtie and appears to suggest that the nationalisatioN of the banks was part of this radical plan

DM: Last year I wrote an article saying that ‘we needed a radical new phase in Labour policy’.

JN: But we haven’t had that. That’s the point.

DM: If I had come on this programme last August and said ‘The best example of a radical new phase is the Labour Government to own two thirds of Lloyds Bank, that’s real radicalism’ you’d have said ‘you must be absolutely barking;

JN: But you were forced into that. The idea that this was a choice on the part of the government is absurd, Mr Miliband.

DM: No no no. I’m sorry. It is absurd to say that the government did not choose to own two-thirds of Lloyds Bank

JN: (laughing) It ‘chose’ to own it in the context of the biggest financial crash for 80 years.

DM: And we did the right thing.

JN: (scoffing) really.

DM: Hang on. And on the economy, we have shown what a radical new phase means. We’ve proved that it was the right thing to do. Yesterday Lloyds Bank paid back £2.6bn. Now we’ve had the coldest electoral shower imaginable. We have to ask ourselves in other areas – on political reform, on public services and on international policy – what’s the equivalent of unconventional thinking? What’s the equivalent of owning two-thirds of Lloyds Bank?


Your can listen to the whole interview HERE

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