Heather Stewart is joined by Andrew Lilico, Ann Pettifor, Jonathan Portes, Rachel Reeves and Vince Cable for an extended discussion at a Guardian Live event in London

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There’s a word that’s suddenly part of almost every political discussion going on in the democratic world: populism.

What caused it, and what we should do about it?

If 2016 was the year we “had enough of experts” - a year in which Britain chose Brexit and America voted for Trump. Could 2017 be the year the experts fight back?

Or will we see the onward march of populism through the Netherlands, France and even Germany?

Are we seeing a rejection of globalisation? Or is the public’s patience finally running out after the post-crisis squeeze on living standards?

Are economists and their theories partly to blame? And should we turn to them for solutions?

Joining Heather Stewart to discuss it all are a panel of economic experts from across the political spectrum:

Ann Pettifor is an economist and director of Prime – Policy Research in Macroeconomics.

Rachel Reeves is the Labour MP for Leeds West, a member of the Treasury select committee, and a former Bank of England economist.

Andrew Lilico is executive director of the consultancy Europe Economics and one of those rare beasts: an economist who backed Brexit.

Vince Cable is former Lib Dem business secretary in the coalition government who before becoming an MP was chief economist at Shell.

Jonathan Portes is a Professor of Economics at Kings College London.



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