A mandate for abolition provided by a manifesto pledge might be easier for the markets to accept than just ignoring it in the pursuit of tax cuts, as Liz Truss attempted.
Lockdown prioritised health risks to the old over effects on the young. It was just the latest example of a balance in public policy which has long concerned me.
The key problem is stagnation. Margaret Thatcher’s reforms promoted mobility and opportunity. Now we are an economy which doesn’t change enough.
Monday’s speech and today’s announcement show them choosing their ground for the next election. And since Hunt may find no money for further tax cuts next spring, the option of a May general election is opening up.
These 18 year olds may not wish to do a full honours degree. But it should be far easier for them to be funded to get to level four or five – Higher National Certificates, Higher National Diplomas etc.
We don’t want our children to grow up in a stultified, caste society where the only way to wealth and opportunity is to inherit it from parents.
It could be used towards that first deposit, or for a small range of other approved purposes, such as education and training, setting up a business, or putting money into a pension.
Imagine that every day a British Minister dealt with their counterparts in Germany or France, they observed that their own living standards were 25 per cent lower (the gap for Britain’s poorest compared with those two countries).
People need a sense of hope and optimism about their prospects. And one of the best ways for the new Prime Minister to deliver that credibly is indeed to show how they will grow the innovations which will make life better.
There is a lot of rhetoric about boosting vocational training, but we need to do more to deliver it in practice.
Of the main tax cut candidates urged on the Chancellor, the best available is a VAT fuel reduction.
It will, for one, open the door to numerous other interest groups, who will demand for such a policy to be maintained or used again in the future.
When it comes to helping working people, a tax cut to hand would be the cancellation of the Health and Social Care Levy.
When we compare ourselves to countries with a similar level of prosperity, the truth hits home: the cost of housing in the UK is 57 per cent higher than in Austria, for example, and 36 per cent higher than in Canada.