'Concerned ' : Peter Spencer , chief economic adviser to the highly respected Ernst & Young Item Club . Ed Miliband does not have the right ‘ mind-set ’ to run the country and has an unrealistic view of how business works , a leading economist says today . Peter Spencer , chief economic adviser to the highly respected Ernst & Young Item Club , says he is ‘ concerned ’ about the prospect of a Labour government after the general election in May . The former Treasury mandarin says ‘ even Neil Kinnock ’ would have been a safer pair of hands than Mr Miliband because ‘ he knew the way the world worked ’ . The unflattering comparison with the former Labour leader – who lost the 1992 election to John Major – will delight Tories hoping for a similar result in May . Mr Spencer says George Osborne ’ s plans to cut state spending to the lowest level since the 1930s will not lead to ‘ Armageddon ’ despite protest from the left . ‘ The world has moved on from the 1930s , ’ says Mr Spencer , dismissing claims from Labour and the unions that the Tories ’ plans would cripple public services . He says whoever is Chancellor after the election will need to return Britain to the black and start paying down the national debt after two decades of borrowing . The comments , in an interview with the Daily Mail , will come as a boost for Mr Osborne ahead of the budget next week . Scroll down for video . Mr Miliband has pledged to ‘ bring back socialism ’ and is planning to raise taxes on business , high earners and owners of expensive homes . Plans : Mr Miliband ( right ) has pledged to to raise taxes on business , high earners and owners of expensive homes while Chancellor George Osborne ( left ) plans to cut state spending to the lowest level since the 1930s . The boss of chemist chain Boots has warned a Labour government would be a catastrophe and Mr Spencer says he is now also worried about the prospects of a Labour government . ‘ This is the first election where I have not been able to wholeheartedly support Labour ’ s policies , ’ he says . ‘ Labour used to be quite concerned about the way the economy actually works . 'Labour ’ s heart has always been in the right place , no question , but they do have a little bit of a problem in understanding the way the world works . ’
Peter Spencer says he 's 'concerned ' about prospect of Labour government . Economist adds ‘ even Neil Kinnock ’ would have been a safer pair of hands . Says whoever in Chancellor will need to bring Britain back to the black .