John Redwood: Why now that we have left the EU are we still yoked to Maastricht austerity?

What we need is to promote a higher wage, higher productivity economy. Our economic targets should reflect those aims.

Warwick Lightfoot: Today’s Budget. Conservatives should not be afraid of public borrowing to ensure a rapid recovery.

Preventing as much long-term damage to the economy as possible now should be the Chancellor’s priority.

Ryan Bourne: Why is Sunak so taken with tax hikes – when the tax burden is forecast to be its heaviest for 70 years?

Conservative messaging implies an implicit belief that there are no major state functions ripe for reform in any fiscal repair.

Howard Flight: We should be optimistic about the UK’s 2021/22 economic recovery

Furthermore, the world will soon realise that Brexit is no disaster but rather a big positive which could harness growth.

David Gauke: My Budget advice to the Chancellor. Raise income tax, not corporation tax.

We need to have a debate about which taxes are least damaging to economic growth. Over the long term, corporation tax ranks as being one of the worst.

Anthony Browne: Why the UK’s fall in GDP is not the worst of the G7, but in the middle

Opposition politicians are wrong in their assessment of the country’s economic response to Covid.

Kristian Niemietz: What difference does the size of the state make to how is deals with Covid? None.

If it were the critical factor, Belgium should have been superbly prepared for the pandemic. Alas, it was not.

Will Tanner: Covid and vaccines. Imagine what would have happened if we’d junked intervention – and opted instead for laissez faire.

The first piece in a ConHome mini-series this week on industrial strategy after the pandemic.

John O’Connell: To ensure efficient government spending, we need a new Parliamentary Budget Committee

A dedicated body could focus on scrutinising the economy and effectiveness of future plans. Australia and New Zealand already have similar models.

David Gauke: If Johnson goes for a Brexit trade deal, as he should, he should also go for a further implementation period.

Closing the transition period at the end of the year will cause even greater problems than necessary.

Daniel Hannan: We need Ministers’ estimate of the cost of the lockdown to lives and livelihoods

Publishing the figures will underline that Ministers are striving to be balanced. Never mind how it looks, though: better statistics will lead to better decisions.

Why the obsessive focus on new tax rises when we need proper spending control – in the form of a real zero-based review?

The Treasury should hold one as the year rolls on, along the lines of that undertaken by Canada’s government during the 1990s.

Stephen Booth: Why Stilton matters to the Japanese trade deal – and how talks can bring the UK closer to the CPTPP

Trade negotiations and agreements are inherently political.

Emma Revell: Young people socialising made Sturgeon “want to cry”. If only she got as upset over their debt burden.

During the EU referendum, many politicians claimed to be concerned about younger generations’ futures. But they’ve been mysteriously quiet recently.

Ed McGuinness: Getting everyone back to work will save the economy

We must adapt or risk a lasting hit to one of the world’s economic command centres. A booster shot is needed to avert a smaller economy.