The IMF Crisis of 1976 - Professor Vernon Bogdanor
70,494
Published 2016-02-03
In 1976, the Labour government sought a loan from the International Monetary Fund to meet deteriorating economic conditions. The Fund demanded large cuts in public spending. After a bitter Cabinet battle, the Cabinet agreed, so ending plans to expand the economy and improve the social services. Many believed that 1976 was also a crisis for democratic socialism, a philosophy which had sought social improvement through economic growth. That philosophy now appeared irrelevant during a period of austerity.
The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-imf-cris…
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All Comments (13)
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I could listen to Professor Bogdanor all day.
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Solidly establishment, but fair-minded and well-informed.
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Excellent analysis. This might be the best of the lot. The Professor has produced another gem.
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When Tony Benn circulated the minutes from the MacDonald Cabinet, somebody should’ve responded by circulating some copies of his Alternative Economic Strategy, paper-clipped to copies of the Mosley Memorandum.
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Fantastic.
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Alas we are dependant on an international Market Place, a market place that is nervous and jittery, and is likely to do anything based on a rumour. Doesn't that sound like a very risky position ?
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Why doesnt He just say they spent more than they earned therefore they did not balance the Books
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thats what i like aiden
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Britain suffers from an ingrained bias in media and society towards the establishment, to the detriment of effective policy-making, the disenfranchised and ultimately all but an ever-shrinking elite
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So many comparisons to Corbyn.
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Referencing Osborne’s economic self harm and economic rubbish that ruined our recovery from the Great Recession is a joke
