Mr Polanski, is the bond market baddie in the room with you now?
Mr Polanski, is the bond market baddie in the room with you now?
Craig MackinlaySat, June 6, 2026 at 7:00 AM UTC
0
Zack Polanski has said we should stop 'being in hock only to the bond markets' - Andrew Matthews/PA
Today's Green Party is a strange beast.
It is far removed from its roots of fostering debate about the state of the global environment. It was defined by a war on plastics, promoting cleaner air, rivers and seas, encouraging production and trade closer to consumers – minimising food miles, farming intensity and being generally "nice", with comfy sandals thrown in. Where do I sign up?
The Greens lost their heads as net zero caught on as the new religion. They weren't alone. All the other major parties similarly found redemption under the sermon of Greta Thunberg.
As the Labour Party continues its slow but inexorable implosion, the Greens are taking up the reins of the Left. Zack Polanski's party is presenting a menu of anti-capitalist proposals including an all-out war to "seek the effective abolition of private landlordism", rent controls and a massive government debt-fuelled purchase of properties.
Odd, as in 2016 Polanski was, sensibly, against rent-fixing. He himself cited the case of San Francisco, where rents rise as supply collapses. Scotland under the SNP is experiencing the same.
Despite the contradictions, the Greens are doing well electorally – their success in Gorton and Denton surprised me. The cause being taken up by their new MP is to ban alcohol from Westminster while at the same time calling for the legalisation of all drugs. I'm assuming such a liberal drug policy would apply to Westminster.
It's all very strange. Caroline Lucas, the former Green leader, attempted to have snuff, held by the Commons doorkeepers for members' use (and much enjoyed by me), banned. A line of white powder – good. A line of brown snuff – bad.
It is their plunge into putting together economic policies that catches my eye this week. The latest observation by the Green leader that "we must stop being in hock only to the bond markets" seems similar to the line taken by wannabe Labour leaders.
The impression given is that there is a James Bond baddie with a scar, probably stroking a cat, who is in control of escalating gilt yields. I hate to break it to the Greens and putative prime ministers, but the villain from Spectre does not exist.
Advertisement
Our worryingly high gilt rates – 10-year at 4.9pc, 30-year at 5.6pc – are reflective of the risk premium attached to lending to the UK government, which has proven itself incapable of reining in expenditure and for whom the International Monetary Fund states the scope for further tax increases is "limited".
The UK credit score is worsening with a Moody's rating of Aa3. Meanwhile, the US has a rating of Aa1, with Switzerland at the top of the global ratings with Aaa.
Living within our means is the boringly staid answer.
The expectation is for inflationary pressures to remain in the UK for longer than in competing jurisdictions, with the eroding value of money needing to be reflected in an interest premium.
The James Bond baddies that the Greens deride are you and I with gilts in our Isas, investment portfolios and pensions. We additionally rely on the patronage of foreign governments and investors to keep buying our IOUs.
There is no "market" to control. That was tried leading up to the 1992 withdrawal from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism at a cost of £3.3bn (£9bn adjusted for today) in the forlorn attempt to keep the pound within politically dictated values and boundaries against the Deutschmark.
Across many economic plans being considered by the Left – rent controls, price controls, energy fixes, and so on – the mistakes of the 1970s are being considered once more.
High-interest-rate government borrowing is a pesky inconvenience to those wishing to splurge even more on lame projects.
You can't buck the market.
Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.
Source: “AOL Money”
