Osborne says current monetary policy benefits rich

Former chancellor of exchequer George Osborne has said in an interview with Bloomberg that the UK’s current monetary policy has benefited the rich and made the poor worse off.

Osborne also made the case for a softer Brexit, adding that it would be best to wait until after the next French and German elections in 2017 before triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty.

He said that despite the policies adopted in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis being “very necessary” to help the economy survive, their impact had to be mitigated.

The effect of the UK’s monetary policy has been higher share prices and higher house prices as well as reducing earnings on savings which in effect benefits the wealthy and disadvantages the working class.

Osborne’s focus while he was in cabinet was on warding off recession and making sure the economy is growing.

"We need to offset the very necessary loose monetary policy, and the distributional consequences that is having. Essentially it makes the rich richer and makes life difficult for ordinary savers" said Osborne.

Despite losing the referendum campaign, Osborne is staying on as a Conservative MP unlike former prime minister David Cameron.

He wants to stay on to fight for a “softer rather than a harder Brexit” when negotiating relations with Europe.

The former chancellor believes negotiations should start after Germany and France have had their elections towards the end of 2017.

He defended his “project Fear” predictions by citing the devaluation in the pound and the several forecasts for economic growth that have been downgraded post-Brexit.

Osborne had warned that further austerity measures would be required if Britain voted to leave during the campaign. When asked if the newly elected chancellor Philip Hammond should follow this path of more austerity he stated that slower economic growth means fewer resources and would in turn lead to “hard decisions.”