‘We’re all sick of Britain being in the slow lane … we want to see a revival of those animal spirits so that we can grow the economy and bring investment here,” said Rachel Reeves on her return from Davos last week. Plainly a memo has gone round: in a radio interview this morning, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds claimed Labour’s willingness to take bold decisions “unleashes the animal spirit, the sense of something exciting happening”. When Reeves set out her plan for growth this afternoon, she reprised many of her Davos themes. She’s on a strange crusade against newts and bats, holding wildlife concerns responsible for Britain’s anti-growth mindset; she thinks bringing down net migration and fearlessly growing the economy are compatible and equal priorities; she’s putting a hell of a lot of faith in extra airport runways. But at least this time she wasn’t saying we should be more like Trump.
But what does “animal spirits” mean? Does it mean what Reeves thinks it means? Is it a useful concept? And how do we get hold of some of these spirits?
