Economic forecasting was invented to make astrology look respectable, as JK Galbraith reportedly quipped. Watching the performance of George Osborne over the past five years, and ahead of next week’s autumn statement and comprehensive spending review, it is hard not to agree.

Osborne’s projections on the fiscal position and the wider health of the British economy have consistently been dubious, at best. The deficit has not been closed, and neither has the debt fallen to the level he promised. Yet the chancellor continues to parade his record as something to be proud of. I would counsel caution. True, unemployment is down and growth is creeping up, but the UK’s economic health remains precarious, and it is plain arrogance, bordering upon hubris, to suggest otherwise.

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Osborne’s plan to erode the state will stifle investment, leave huge swaths of the population worse off, and – most importantly – leave the economy vulnerable to future economic shocks.

He is a short-term chancellor in thrall to the past, and blind to the opportunities of the future. The Labour party will not make the same mistake. Jeremy Corbyn’s election as Labour leader was predicated on three key pledges. First: a new politics – a more democratic, engaging and kinder politics in both the Labour party and society. Second: a new economics, laying the economic foundations of a prosperous, fairer and sustainable society. Third: a new relationship with the world, based upon a foreign policy promoting mutual cooperation, conflict prevention and resolution rather than military aggression. These pledges are inextricably linked. And the second is absolutely integral to the whole.

Unlike this government, we will not fall into the trap of short-termism. As chancellor, the question I would address is: how can I build and harness the good economics that are needed to form the foundations of a good society? If we are to build the fairer, more equal, more democratic and more outward-looking society that we so badly need, Britain must have a healthy, productive and balanced economy. The UK has so much untapped potential: at the moment we are failing to invest in the skills and technologies that will create the secure, high-wage, productive economy of the future.

In terms of investment in research and development, the UK currently languishes at 19th in the OECD’s rankings. This fact alone shows that, under this government, we are ignoring opportunities that we should be embracing.

As the world changes, the way we work changes with it. Dramatic shifts in technology are opening up new possibilities. The UK needs to diversify – to become the technological as well as the financial centre of Europe.

The spread of information technology and the long-term decline in the cost of computing power have created opportunities that simply did not exist before. Airbnb, for example, could not have existed before the internet. It does not own or rent rooms itself: it provides a space through which others can do so. Sometimes this has been labelled the “gig economy”. Its enthusiasts talk up its possibilities for more exciting, more varied consumption, and making better use of the assets we own.

Meeting the challenges of the future requires a state that can think and act strategically. We need to ensure that we exploit these possibilities in a way that creates, and does not restrict, opportunities for workers. To facilitate this, we must re-establish a system of worker participation in management, with a supply chain of information between shop floor and government that brings workers and unions together to advise policymakers on the future direction of the economy.

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We know this can be done in a modern society. Finland met its disastrous recession in the 1990s by transforming its economy from an exporter of lumber to an exporter of technology. At the centre of its transition it established the science and technology policy council, drawing on expertise from across business, science, and civil society.

Labour in government will seek to do the same, establishing an innovation strategy with a clear mission to boost research and development spending and maximise the social and economic benefits from that expenditure. The OECD thinks a developed country such as Britain should be spending a minimum of 3.5% of GDP on infrastructure. A Labour government would exceed that commitment.

At present companies are sitting on a £400bn cash pile. So we will also look to change the corporate tax system and work constructively with companies to give them incentives to invest wisely.

One option to achieve this would be a higher tax on retained earnings, alongside improved deductibility for long-term investment. Another would be a legislative framework, in partnership with business, to encourage greater investment in our economy. But all options are on the table, and there is a wealth of opportunity before us. The chancellor is stuck in the past. It’s time to look to the future: socialism with an iPad.