Alistair Darling delivers Mais Lecture at Cass

Chancellor reveals his plans to maintain economic stability

Thursday, 30 October, 2008

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP, was the guest speaker at this year’s annual Mais Lecture where he divulged his plans for maintaining economic stability in the midst of a global recession.

Darling called for a new response from governments, in the UK and abroad, to maintain a strong and stable economy.  He suggested macroeconomic policy should combine credibility with flexibility to support the economy and he emphasised the need to maintain investment to face the challenges of the future. 

He said the regulatory system needs to be strengthened to allow it to adapt in response to recent events and said he believed that regulators need to look at practices that could destabilise the banking system.  Darling called for Financial Stability Forum and the IMF to work better together and with national regulators.

He also said that measures such as the price of assets, including house and share prices, should be included in inflation calculations.

To view the speech in its entirety, please visit:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_110_08.htm

Responses to the Chancellor's speech from Cass Professors Mohan Sodhi and Meziane Lasfer are available here.