Mr Yew came to power as a left winger. He had the intelligence however to realise that while left wing politics may get you elected, they don’t always help you run a country.
He rigorously held down his country’s public spending – even now, it is vastly lower than the UK’s 45pc of GDP. This means, of course, low taxes. He prioritised inward investment by ensuring light touch but vigorously enforced regulation.
He managed to cope with the withdrawal of the British military base (when Lee came to power it represented around a fifth of Singapore’s GDP) and surfed the emergence of the South East Asian economic miracle to achieve the fastest rate of growth in the region.
Today Singapore’s GDP per capita is, at $91.1 thousand, roughly twice that of the UK at $45.6 thousand. It is worth realising that the average three person Singaporean family today has a staggering $140 thousand more to spend each year than they would have had Singapore’s GDP per capita been as low as the UK’s.
In Britain, today, there is a range of pro competition policies that can boost consumer incomes, reduce inflation and raise growth. Such policies were adopted by Labour governments in both Australia (under Paul Keating) and in New Zealand (associated with the name of the Finance Minister Roger Douglas) in late 80s and early 90s.
A new paper released by the Growth Commission shows that in both countries GDP is now 20-25pc higher than it might have been had the pre-reform trend persisted. Growth matters, and Sir Keir cannot take it for granted, whichever avenue he chooses.
It’s not impossible (though it will be tough) for Sir Keir to achieve the same result as Lee Kuan Yew. If he does, he will stay in power for many years and write his name into the history books as one of the UK’s greatest prime ministers.
But if he wants to do that, he needs to realise that Tony Blair’s apparent early successes were the result of luck and the policies of the previous government.
Douglas McWilliams is co-chairman of the Growth Commission and deputy chairman of Cebr
