Owen Smith promises a “British New Deal” – a £200bn development fund on infrastructure https://t.co/QZeZD8TS2C

— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 17, 2016

Labour leadership hopeful Owen “Oily” Smith’s £200 billion “British New Deal” pledge, unveiled this weekend, has already been trumped by John McDonnell’s promise today of £500 billion for small businesses. The shadow chancellor announced his plan in pro-Brexit Sunderland to help secure the North-East for Labour. Goodbye prudence hello prolificacy…

Both men are deluded. In May alone the UK had a deficit of £9.7 billion – £74.9 billion for the 2015-16 financial year. Smith’s £200 billion pledge would almost double Labour’s record deficit under Gordon Brown in 2009-10 of £154 billion, taking the total to approximately 10.3% of current GDP, and adding another 12.5% to our current £1.6 trillion national debt. The choice for Labour members is between a spendthrift and a squanderer…