The Conservatives need first to address a real perception problem: voters in these seats are twice as likely to say they associate the words ‘divided’ and ‘uncaring’ with the Tories than with Labour.
Our forebears worked hard to place us in our privileged place in today’s world. But we inherited that position without having to work for it, and now we’re far more interested in spending and consuming our wealth than in earning it.
The Opposition cannot deliver a 1979-style transformation without making difficult decisions, or only picking fights with easy targets such as non-doms and parents of private-school children.
Last week, Jeremy Hunt took important first steps toward solving three serious problems: the system’s anti-family bias, too much disparity in how earned and unearned income is treated, and absurd marginal rates.
I have a theory: more often than not, a political party is better at evaluating its opponent’s political weaknesses than its own.
To those who say that election year budgets should offer short-term giveaways, I say this: history tells us that the British public is much too smart and much too sceptical to be bribed.
If there is leeway for cuts, wouldn’t it be wiser to use it for a reduction that affects a greater number of voters or boosts the economy?
The second part of our series on reducing demand for government, in which we set out a programme for change – focused on families, civil society and government.
Excessive increases in the money supply have severe and far-reaching economic consequences. Yet neither ministers nor the electorate have any say over this crucial area.
The sad truth is that until Tory MPs – and members – get serious about the trade-offs required for the long-term sustainability of the public finances, tax cuts will remain a pipe dream, and Britain’s economic position will continue to deteriorate.
Whilst spending more nearer to an election is often an election winning strategy, this time it is likely to consign us to defeat.
The last of three articles this week as our project continues over the summer and autumn.
Any sincere reading of the British economy since 2010 need acknowledge one basic thing: that the essential problem with the modern economy isn’t income inequality, but a lack of income.