A TOP member of the shadow cabinet has described Burnley banking revolutionary David Fishwick as ‘hugely inspiring’.

Chuka Umunna, the shadow secretary of state for business, innovation and skills, visited Mr Fishwick’s ‘bank’ in Keirby Walk as part of a north-west tour.

Mr Umunna, Labour MP for Streatham, in London, backed Mr Fishwick’s Burnley Savings and Loans model to catch on around the country.

The 34-year-old, tipped as a rising star of the Labour party, met with staff including Mr Fishwick’s right-hand man, David Henshaw, and Burnley Council leader Julie Cooper.

Mr Umunna, who also visited businesses that have taken advantage of Mr Fishwick’s loans, said: “It’s hugely inspiring and the point is that it’s the community’s empire.

“I think too often we’ve seen financial institutions who increasingly appear to have been set up to serve themselves and their shareholders when actually we’ve got a proud history of local banking in our country which died out several decades ago.

“It seems to me that what Dave is doing is reviving that.

“The beauty of the Bank of Dave is that you’ve got people coming here who’ve been rejected by the high street banks. The kind of relationship that Dave has with these businesses is great.

“He knows them, he walks past them, he actually goes and visits the businesses, he understands their business models and he can see whether they are successful or not. ”

He said any future Labour government would look at setting up a network of regional banks inspired by the ‘Bank of Dave’ to kick-start local economies.

Mr Umunna, a former member of the Treasury Select Committee, also described payday loan companies as ‘immoral’ and ‘grubby’.

Mr Fishwick said: “It’s real coup to have Chuka here in Burnley to see what we’re doing.

“We make judgements based on common sense, but the thing about common sense it that it’s not that common anymore. We lend to people, not to numbers.”