Andrew Griffith, the economic secretary to the Treasury, said “wider share ownership is good for savers, good for the economy and good for society.”
“Increasing individual share ownership is also about changing culture, attitudes to risk and supporting individual responsibility.”
The advertising campaign has been proposed by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS), a think tank with significant influence in Conservative circles, which has warned that runaway inflation is eroding the value of the estimated £1.8 trillion families hold in bank accounts.
The think tank called for a campaign in the manner of the “Tell Sid” adverts which successfully encouraged millions to buy into the privatisations of state-owned companies when shares were sold in the 1980s.
Under 4pc of household financial assets are held in the form of listed shares, the CPS report said, putting the UK behind European neighbours including France, Germany and Spain, while even those who express an interest in savvy investment by opening an Isa typically choose the cash version instead of a stocks and shares account.
Savers should be encouraged to make the most of the “wealth-generating effect of investments in equities”, the CPS said, along with warnings that “the alternative to investing is not keeping your money safe, but seeing it relentlessly lose its value if kept in cash”.
Inflation hit a peak of more than 11pc last year and in May stood at 8.7pc. By contrast the average easy access savings account pays 2.45pc, while a typical one-year fixed savings product offers 4.8pc.
Banks are under political pressure to offer higher rates of interest to savers, as MPs on the Treasury Select Committee accused lenders of failing to match higher mortgage rates with higher savings rates as the Bank of England puts up its base rate.
