The Guardian view on Labour’s gloomy politics: it is bad economics | Editorial

In a blog, the economist Bill Mitchell suggests Labour’s strategy will do no good. He notes that in the last six months, Britons enjoyed higher incomes, largely driven by public spending. The UK’s deficit position and public spending is also in line with comparable rich countries – and nowhere close to being, as one cabinet minister claimed, “out of control”. Prof Mitchell writes that the “only way the British economy can sustain growth at present with the planned fiscal cutbacks is if the private domestic sector plunges into deficit and builds up ever increasing levels of debt. It is a recipe for disaster.”