Former UK Prime Minister Proposes US-Led 'Marshall Plan' to Spur Global Economy

Dec. 12, 2010— -- The United States needs to introduce a Marshall Plan-style proposal to keep the global economy from spiraling out of control, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Sunday.

In an exclusive interview on "This Week with Christiane Amanpour," Brown, also a former head of Britain's treasury, said an international system of regulation was necessary to prevent widespread unemployment and debt for years ahead, and the U.S. should lead the way.

"A solution in America is not going to be enough because, you can't have financial stability in one country without having it in another, so you need a global approach to financial stability," he said.

"America should put down the America plan for the future, rather like the Marshall Plan in the 1940s, and say, 'Look, this is where we've got do -- what we've got to do.'"

Brown's proposed "exit strategy from a crisis" would include spurring Asia to consume more, Europe to reform more and the U.S. to invest more.

As politicians and economists in the U.S. debate how best to stimulate the economy, Europe and the U.K. have taken a different measure to deal with their flailing economies -- stringent austerity measures.

The fallout from those deep cuts were felt last week in London. Students took to the streets to protest a Government plan to triple university tuition fees, and Prince Charles became the inadvertent target when the limousine carrying the prince and his wife Camilla was attacked.

Brown criticized the current government, claiming cuts to education will hurt rather than help the country's economy.

"I oppose any form of violence -- completely unacceptable," Brown said. "But there is a fundamental division in Britain at the moment: between those who believe that austerity means that you've got to cut education, and universities, and cut science, and cut technology; and those who believe that the only future for Britain lies in investing in skills and high-technology products and services and sending them to what's going to be the biggest market in the future which is a billion new consumers in Asia."