‘The Treasury is taking with one hand to give away with the other’. Think tanks react to the Spring Statement

Takes from the Centre for Policy Studies, the Adam Smith Institute, the TaxPayers’ Alliance, the Centre for Social Justice, and more.

Ryan Bourne: Sunak’s instincts are right. The Government should avoid slashing VAT on domestic fuel.

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.

Robert Halfon: Dealing with child hunger isn’t a left-wing issue. The Government must, and can, do more.

By using sugar tax funds, it could greatly alleviate some of the difficulties in schools across the country.

Matthew Lesh: Funding isn’t enough to boost education. The Government must be radical and promote microschools.

There is clearly a demand by parents for a more bespoke education in a smaller class size.

Andrew Gimson’s PMQs sketch: This canine Prime Minister bounded all over Starmer

The Labour leader found, as did Howard, Cameron and May, that it is very difficult to control Johnson’s animal spirits.

Ryan Bourne: School catch-up for the disadvantaged? Of course. But do all pupils need it? Not really. The Treasury has a point.

That schooling can improve earning potential doesn’t mean that ever-more schooling is good for all kids in the aftermath of a pandemic.

Budget 2021: Think tank response round-up

How have think-tanks and campaign groups responded to the Chancellor’s fiscal and economic initiatives?

Mubin Haq: How can it be right for the Government to harm your business, leave you in need – and not help you?

We found over a million people excluded from the Government schemes are struggling to pay for food and everyday essentials.

Sunak’s measures: What do they look like, where’s the money coming from – and how do they compare to other countries’?

While the Chancellor’s recovery measures look drastic, they are “middle of the pack” when compared to others in the world.

Robert Halfon: There must be no tax rises for lower income voters to help meet the costs of the virus

No fuel duty rises, self-employed taxes, income tax rises, more taxes on food and drink – and the like.

Neil O’Brien: Higher and technical eduation. The universities should reform themselves. Or have reform forced on them.

For a country deep in debt, lofty thoughts are not enough to justify such huge numbers of students doing things that don’t help them economically,

Luke Evans: The shutdown and economic crisis. The longer the first goes on, the more likely the second becomes.

There is an unsolvable and immeasurable balance between lives and livelihoods. So we are going to need consensus across the House.

David Goodhart: The virus. It’s almost certain that ethnic minorities are at greater risk. But we can’t yet know the full explanation.

There are three main factors at work – genetics, plus cultural and social factors. And it’s not possible at present to disentangle the mix.

This really is the time to let the deficit grow big enough to look after itself

If, that is, interest rates carry on at rock bottom rates. But we have to take a chance on growing our way out of this crisis.

Phil Taylor: Labour’s Austerity 1) How Brown’s Government planned £94 billion of cuts

As the tenth anniversary of the 2010 election approaches, the author says that Labour’s own austerity record and plans were almost as tough as the Coalition’s.