Bank of England’s quantitative easing is making the rich richer claims Osborne
The UK's monetary policy has made "life difficult for savers" and has helped the rich become richer, former chancellor George Osborne has said.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Osborne said: “We need to offset the very necessary loose monetary policy and the distributional consequences that is having. Essentially it makes the rich richer and makes life difficult for ordinary savers."
In one of her first acts as Prime Minister, Theresa May sacked Osborne as chancellor of the exchequer in July this year and replaced him with Philip Hammond.
Read more: What a summer: George Osborne’s epic fall from high office
Speaking about June's Brexit vote Osborne warned against a "harder Brexit" and said that May should aim to negotiate a close economic relationship with the bloc.
"My broad view is we should be ending up with a, to use the jargon, softer Brexit," Osborne said.
"The economic consequences of a harder Brexit will be more severe.
"It is too early to say what the economic consequences of Brexit are going to be. It’s going to be the decisions that we take now which are also going to have a big impact on our long-term economic prospects."
Read more: George Osborne confirms plans to lead Northern Powerhouse Partnership
Earlier this month, the backbench MP announced plans to lead a new think tank, the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, aimed at lobbying the government for devolution for the north.
He said: "When I launched the idea of Northern Powerhouse I said I would work tirelessly with anyone and everyone to make it a reality.
"But even I have been taken aback by the huge support it’s attracted, across political parties, businesses and communities.
“There's a real excitement now in the north about what we can achieve if we work together. I don't want us to lose that."