Oh, this one’s going to make the right wing squirm. They love claiming Labour wreck the economy so the Conservatives can swoop in and save the day. Funny thing the facts tell a very different story.
A mate of mine and I were having a friendly debate about which side has actually handled the British economy best since World War Two so we fact checked it. Some very interesting facts emerged.
We looked at three things only
Economic stability
Unemployment and growth
Whether poverty levels improved or worsened
No ideology. Just outcomes.
On the left, Labour chancellors like Stafford Cripps, Hugh Dalton and Gordon Brown focused on stability first. Post war Labour rebuilt a bankrupt country, created the welfare state and kept unemployment low for decades. Gordon Brown then delivered the longest continuous period of economic growth in modern British history with low inflation and falling poverty. The Bank of England was made independent and the economy stayed stable for a full decade before the global crash.
On the right, Conservative chancellors focused heavily on inflation control and market reform. Inflation did come down in the 80s and 90s, but this often came with sharp rises in unemployment, deindustrialisation and higher inequality. Growth tended to be more boom and bust. The early 80s and the post 2010 austerity period both saw prolonged economic pain and slower recoveries.
So what does the evidence show.
Longest periods of stability
Labour
Lowest unemployment overall
Labour
Biggest sustained reductions in poverty
Labour
Inflation control at any cost
Conservatives
The conclusion surprised even us.
If you judge chancellors by efficiency, stability, jobs and living standards rather than slogans, the left has the stronger post war economic record.
Not perfect. Not flawless. But on the facts, they come out on top.
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