People will not accept any arrangement that isn’t funded through the tax system and free at the point of use. So we have to find a way of making the current model work.
It makes spending commitments which exceed the amounts it budgets to spend. Those escalating commitments…will approach E250 billion by the time we leave.
The OBR’s assessment is “consistent with a range of possible outcomes that we can keep under review in future forecasts”. In other words, it’s sorry – but it hasn’t a clue.
Plus: The OBR isn’t needed to audit manifestos. The SNP’s sleight-of-hand on austerity. A lack of debate on healthcare. And: don’t make promises you can’t keep.