Yvette Cooper attacks Jeremy Corbyn for ‘dodgy economics that won’t survive an election’

Frontrunner: Jeremy Corbyn says his policies are endorsed by a range of leading economists
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Yvette today accused rival Jeremy Corbyn of peddling “dodgy economics” that would not survive the scrutiny of a general election.

As the Labour leadership battle entered its final fortnight, she used an Evening Standard interview to say Labour will lose in 2020 if it adopts “printing money” as official policy.

“The idea of promising to print money at a time when the economy is growing is really dodgy economics and will end up being torn apart and discredited,” she said. “We have to offer a real alternative, not a false promise.”

Ms Cooper, a former chief secretary to the Treasury, recalled the misery of losing to David Cameron in May and said: “If we rip up our chances now of winning the next election, we will let people down.”

Mr Corbyn unveiled ideas in July for “quantitative easing for people instead of banks” in which the emergency measures taken by the Bank of England to boost the economy during the financial crisis would be revived to build homes, energy and transport projects. Ms Cooper said the idea was “just not credible” and offered “false hope”.

Mr Corbyn hit back, saying his policy was “endorsed by a vast range of leading economists” and investment was vital to stop the UK lagging behind rivals.

“As Labour leader I am prepared to make the case for extra public investment through a national investment bank,” the Islington North MP said.

“There are a number of funding options, of which People’s Quantitative Easing is one, and low-cost public borrowing is another. What is not credible is doing nothing or using the dodgy accounting trick of PFI deals that now risk bankrupting our NHS.” But Lord Mandelson, the co-architect of Tony Blair’s election campaigns, said Mr Corbyn’s economic policies would “make the party unelectable”.

Writing in the Financial Times, the peer acknowledged that modernisers such as himself were partly to blame for Labour’s conflict for failing to admit “past mistakes” or “define what New Labour should mean for new times”.

He praised Chuka Umunna and Tristram Hunt for launching a new group to develop centre-ground policies. However, Ms Cooper, asked if she would join the group, Labour For The Common Good, told this newspaper: “I don’t know what it is.”

Rival leadership contender Andy Burnham has called for the benefits budget to be handed over to local councils to run. “I believe they would do a better job of getting people back into work,” he told a hustings last night.

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