Jeremy Corbyn could take Royal Bank of Scotland back into state ownership as part of a renationalisation of once-public assets judged to have been sold off too cheaply by the current Conservative government.
An administration led by the Labour leftwinger would in some cases seize the assets without compensation, his campaign team said yesterday, suggesting that RBS was a leading candidate.
John McDonnell, Mr Corbyn’s agent, said that privatisation had been “a confidence trick”. He said: “Under a Corbyn Labour government this shameful era of governments and ministers colluding in the picking of the taxpayers’ pockets will be brought to an abrupt end.”
Meanwhile, more than 40 leading economists have signed a letter backing Mr Corbyn’s economic plans. Danny Blanchflower, a former member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, was among the signatories to the letter in The Observer, which dismissed claims that Mr Corbyn’s policy was extreme.
The letter said: “His opposition to austerity is actually mainstream economics, even backed by the conservative International Monetary Fund. He aims to boost growth and prosperity.”