The Chancellor will have have more money to play with than was forecast. How he uses these additional resources will tell us a great deal about his priorities.
Conservative governments can raise tax rates temporarily as part of a clear plan – which wasn’t the case with last week’s announcement.
The problem is that spiralling spending demands quickly use up the options which voters don’t notice. Eventually you need other big sources of revenue,
The Conservatives should think about the implications of what would happen if Labour got serious on this issue.
The Budget was, if truly honest, a sign that the Government shuns spending cuts and embraces tax rises – which is ultimately unsustainable.
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.
Dale’s new volume of brief lives of all 55 Prime Ministers since 1721 brings only some of them to life.
Plus: Johnson’s sub-optimal Brexit trade deal choice. I’m not dreaming of a normal Christmas. And: green jobs – overall, a cost not a benefit.
My objective would be policies to help achieve growth in real Government revenue, and growth in labour productivity.
It’s a good thing for former senior Ministers to keep thinking, going and contributing, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see a comeback to government.
No fuel duty rises, self-employed taxes, income tax rises, more taxes on food and drink – and the like.
Whether moderate right Conservative, or moderate left, austerity is dead, and this new age will be with us for a long time to come.
Some form of the scheme may be necessary as an expedient. But beware: nothing lasts so long as the temporary.
The most significant part of his announcement was talks with employers and unions “to urgently develop new forms of employment support”.
It would help to level up places struggling to keep pace with the UK’s most prosperous locations.