Shadow,
2. How do you draw that conclusion? The graph at https://d3fy651gv2fhd3.cloudfront.net/charts/sweden-gdp-growth.png?s=swgdpaqq&v=201802280853v&url2=/united-states/gdp-growth tells a rather different story. As for unemployment, I think it would make more sense to compare the employment rate, as the US economy was depressed for so long that many people there gave up looking for work.

3. You're forgetting Bolivia. But of course that doesn't fit your narrative so well: there capitalism was an excuse to loot. Socialism was a reaction against that, and so far it seems to be doing OK.

Please understand that not all socialism shares the anti business characteristics of Venezuelan socialism!

4. What evidence do you have that quarantining addicts' welfare payments is the most effective solution? Indeed what evidence do you have that it's more effective than doing nothing?

Social Welfare assists a Country to wind down production and increase unemployment. The accepted Government holds the power over the people rather than the People are the governing power.

Aidan,

2 https://tradingeconomics.com/countries Sweden's growth rate is presently 0.9% and the US is presently 2.9%. US unemployment 4.1% and Sweden's 6.3%. Remember that the SR's statement referred to the current state of affairs.

3 Only a few years ago socialists were trumpeting Venusuala as the utopia that all governments should aim for, and now citizens are using the currency to wipe their bottoms.

Bolivia is hardly a shining example either and its economy has been all over the map.

https://tradingeconomics.com/bolivia/gdp-growth

4 The trials of quarantining income for addicts has been a great success in Aus compared the vast majority of addicts spending their welfare money on drugs.

Dear Shadow minister,

You wrote;

“The trials of quarantining income for addicts has been a great success in Aus compared the vast majority of addicts spending their welfare money on drugs.”

Oh bunkum.

Can you at least wait until some decent data comes in before spouting off.

The cashless welfare card used during the intervention had very mixed results;

“… little evidence to date that income management is resulting in widespread behaviour change, either with respect to building an ability to effectively manage money or in building ‘socially responsible behaviour’ beyond the direct impact of limiting the amount that can be spent on some items.”
http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook44p/IncomeManagement

Are you really trying to say this is a superior system/solution to the life changing impacts UBI had on the group of long term homeless in London?

The term heartless ideologue comes to mind. Come on mate think for your bloody self or does the notion of keeping a certain section of people down fit with your world view.

Shadow,
2. I stand corrected; I'd failed to notice the two lines on the graph I posted did not share the same scale.

3. Who exactly were these socialists who were trumpeting Venezuela as a utopia? If they were real, they should have known better; even when Venezuela appeared to be successful, it was obvious that there were things the government was doing wrong.

But though their antibusiness socialism did great damage to their economy,it was not what collapsed their currency. That was the result of their government maintaining a fixed official exchange rate to the US dollar even when the oil price collapsed. Had they let the market determine their currency's value, they could've exported their way out of trouble.

Regarding your Bolivia link, if you click on MAX you'll see there have long been big seasonal fluctuations. Indeed they used to be bigger than they are now, and the socialists coming to power in 2005 did not make much of a difference.

4. Claiming it to be a great success is insufficient. What evidence do you have that they're actually sending less on drugs?

[Sorry, that should say "actually spending less on drugs"]

Alternatively I'd accept evidence showing the addicts are actually working more.