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The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Minford and Sons: How one economist mesmerised the Tories

The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Podmasters

News, Government, Politics, Society & Culture

4.61K Ratings

🗓️ 19 October 2022

⏱️ 23 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Patrick Minford faded from view in the 2000s – but since Brexit, he’s returned to the fore of Tory economic policy. So who is this Arch-Thatcherite economist and what does he stand for? UCL policy fellow Laurie Macfarlane talks to Andrew Harrison about how he became an icon of the IEA set, and what his cult worship means for Liz Truss’ government, and the cost of living crisis. “Most economists like markets but Minford is extreme.” “The mini-budget was an experiment of Minford in practice.”  “There's a risk that we lunge to the other extreme and a return to Osbornite austerity.” “Minford claims to care about government budgets, but he's fine with tax cuts for the wealthy.” www.patreon.com/bunkercast  Written and presented by Andrew Harrison. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Assistant producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio production by Alex Rees. Music: Kenny Dickinson. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

My name is Stan. I'm at. Nice to meet you. So you took up photography where? I've always loved

0:05.5

photography but I turn it into earning a living at 60. I enrolled on a day course.

0:11.8

Well college. I loved going to college. It's good you can retry. I'm enrolled on the day course. But college?

0:13.0

I loved going to college.

0:14.0

It's good you can retrain and do something.

0:16.0

Yeah, yeah.

0:17.0

Let's talk about working, learning, saving and making the most of living longer.

0:22.0

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0:28.0

Search Phoenix Group living longer.

0:30.0

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0:32.0

From those happy greetings at the door to the warm cuddles on the sofa

0:36.7

so give a little love back with dental life from Purina a range of delicious chues made for dogs and tasty snacks for cats that help clean and support your pets, teeth and gums, essential for their overall well-being and a happy, healthy life. They give you plenty of smiles so

0:55.3

look after theirs with dental life. Pick up dental life in the pet food aisle. Hello and welcome back to the bunker your morning political pick me up and Andrew Harrison.

1:12.8

Today, Patrick Minford, when I was a teenager in the 1980s,

1:16.9

Margaret Thatcher's favourite economist was the bet noir of progressives,

1:20.0

the arch-monitorist who advocated for low taxes, free trade and deregulation to stimulate the economy,

1:25.5

seemed blind to the consequences for ordinary people, and, ironically, was headquartered at the University of

1:31.2

Liverpool. Minford faded from view in the 2000s but resurfaced as the

1:34.9

founder, and apparently sole significant member of economists for Brexit, where his sunny boosterism

1:40.6

enraged remainers like me. This summer Liz Truss cited him as her

1:44.5

guiding economist and the jaw-dropping disaster of this autumn's trust quatane

1:48.8

budget was pure minfidism. Ignore Treasury orthodoxy, go for stronger economic growth and don't worry

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