Former Cabinet Minister in the Blair and Brown governments Rt Hon Ruth Kelly has joined Policy Exchange as Senior Fellow in its Economics Unit. In the first of a new series of Policy Exchange podcasts, The Agenda, Michael Mosbacher speaks to Kelly about the economic challenges Britain now faces with public spending at over 50 per cent of GDP for the first time since 1945.

Kelly argues that Red Wall voters will not support any party standing on a high tax, high spend programme.

For today's economic challenges to be met power needs to be decentralised, tax raising needs to be devolved and education needs to be further reformed with greater competition between state, voluntary and private providers. The state should primarily be a commissioner and regulator of education.