James Heywood: The virus has exposed the urgent need to reform how we treat the self-employed

The tax benefits of being self-employed should reflect genuine value added relative to normal employment.

Budget 1) This was less a Conservative Budget than “the People’s Budget”. From a Vote Leave Government – not the usual Tory one.

It may be necessary, given the Coronavirus, and could even work. But Britain has a long, long record of state spending failing to turbo-charge growth.

Neil O’Brien: The balance of power between economic and social conservatives may be shifting to the latter

We lost Putney, but gained loads of poorer seats in the north and midlands. That’s highlighted the tensions.

Tom Clougherty: Unless Labour resorts to printing money, higher income tax, NI or VAT are coming – for the many, not the few

That’s a legitimate political agenda, and people are quite welcome to vote for it. But they deserve to know what’s coming.

An idea for McDonnell. Pledge £1 million to every voter in Britain.

Let him carry on what he’s started by exploding the financial framework Labour announced in only two days.

The ConservativeHome columnists and the Conservative Party manifesto

We unleashed Nick Timothy on the world as a columnist. Meet the husband-and-wife combo of Rachel Wolf and James Frayne.

Mark Harper: If the Conservative Party is not the party of sound money, then what on earth are we for?

Between them, the two remaining candidates have already clocked up tax and spending promises of around £51 billion per year.

Sam Gyimah: My challenge to Johnson and Hunt. It’s time to commit to scrapping Britain’s five worst taxes.

The former Universities Minister revives his tax-cutting plan from the earlier stages of this leadership contest.

Mark Harper: Here are the reforms we need to make to the Apprenticeship Levy, Further Education and student funding

Shifting the focus to FE is not only the right thing to do, but would send a powerful message.

A Budget with a message for Conservative MPs. Nice little seat you have there. Pity if anything happened to it.

In sum, Hammond said: vote for May’s Deal – or the economy gets it. But there’s more than one way of dicing the next election result.

How to measure – and vanquish – poverty? A new answer to an old problem.

Philippa Stroud’s new Social Metrics Commission hopes to bring light to murky statistical waters. But can numbers ever truly neutralise politics?

Alex Morton: A win for those spending Ministers would be a defeat for the taxpayer – not just Hammond and Truss

The Comprehensive Spending Review has to be seen as a way to reset the narrative. Government need to focus on reform as a positive – not expenditure.

We can’t just tax our way to a better NHS

Yes, some rises are inevitable. But they must be balanced by spending reductions elsewhere if economic policy is to be practicable and coherent.

Ayesha Azad and Mark Pengelly: In Woking, we are determined that council tenants must have the chance of home ownership

Our innovative Earn Your Deposit Scheme would give the young a real chance to get on the housing ladder.

Andy Cook: Give the poor a pay rise? Boost their productivity.

The Government must do much more to promote universities, apprenticeships and FE colleagues equally to ensure that young people get the skills they need.