Skint: The Truth About Britain's Broken Economy review: Chilling prospect of how Britain could become a one-party state like China, writes CHRISTOPHER STEVENS

Skint: The Truth About Britain's Broken Economy (Channel 4)

Rating:

Do not set your set. There now follows a statement governmental broadcast connected behalf of nan No More Parties, No More Politics campaign.

It's an enticing idea. After six weeks of electioneering, astir of america wouldn't attraction if we ne'er saw different weary statement aliases question-and-answer session.

But 1 of nan solutions floated by Radio 4 economist Tim Harford, connected Skint: The Truth About Britain's Broken Economy (Ch4), took that thought literally.

A mates of his interviewees based on that nan UK needs to do distant pinch populist altogether and spell for a dictatorial authorities for illustration nan 1 successful Beijing.

Will, nan leader of a bicycle manufacturing business called Brompton Bikes, said: 'If we really want to present stableness into nan UK economy, we request to get our governments to group retired a cross-party strategy, for illustration China, for nan adjacent 25 years. We don't conscionable move from near to correct owed to nan large minority, we're doing it based connected facts. That would beryllium great.'

Perhaps it's understandable a cycle-maker fancies nan thought of modelling nan UK system connected China. I ideate it would beryllium beautiful bully for manner houses that specialise successful bluish dungarees arsenic well.

But if Labour wins its threatened super-majority connected Thursday, Britain could go a batch much for illustration China's one-party authorities than anyone foresaw. That won't beryllium arsenic utopian arsenic Will hopes.

Chilling though this imaginable is, Harford's fascination pinch statistic makes him a broadcaster ever worthy hearing. He wrote a devastating article successful nan Daily Mail 4 years ago, astatine nan tallness of nan pandemic, informing of nan insane risks of lockdown.

At a clip erstwhile astir commentators were demanding moreover much stringent restrictions connected our liberty, Harford pointed retired that nan nationalist endurance complaint of Covid-19 was really astir 99.9 per cent.

The consequence of decease from coronavirus, he calculated, was connected mean 3 times much superior than taking a bath . . . 'and nan imaginable of bathtime tragedies has ne'er unopen nan state down'.

Any expert whose conclusions are that robust deserves his soapbox, moreover if you determine you disagree pinch everything he's saying.

Among his extremist suggestions successful Skint Britain was a connection to build 2 cardinal caller houses successful nan countryside.

Dismissing nan English reverence for nan greenbelt arsenic 'near-religious', he interviewed 1 campaigner for caller homes who claimed that overmuch of nan countryside 'has not sewage immoderate biology value — aliases beauty value either'.

That's a position guaranteed to provoke group correct crossed nan governmental spectrum, from nan Clarksons to nan Packhams.

Charts, graphs and information zigzagged crossed nan surface pinch often baffling speed. More mentation would person been welcome: for instance, study of Britain's GDP showed each procreation was doubly arsenic well-off arsenic its parents', until nan banking clang of 2008.

Since then, prosperity has flatlined. But is it a bad point if Millennials are nary richer than their parents? Aren't we ever being told Baby Boomers had it easy?