We will be told that Conservatives want other groups to bear the brunt of cuts in public spending whilst protecting Tory voters. It is hard both to be an advocate of a small state and of the Triple Lock.
Their campaign was still in full flow during the brief period that I was Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. I was not persuaded by their arguments then and I am not persuaded now.
To make progress over the coming year, the Party needs to reach out to more voters and the danger is that fighting culture wars just puts people off.
As we live and work for longer, good work is vital to provide a better later life. We believe that government and employers both have a role to play in enabling good work for the benefit of the economy, businesses and individuals.
The Office for Budget Responsibility already predicts expenditure on the state pension and other pensioner benefits are set to rise from 5.6 per cent of GDP in the current decade to 9.6 per cent by 2071.
But there’s a lesson from Tolstoy’s words about unhappy families: each departing MP is departing in their own way.
We kick off a ConservativeHome project on strong families, better schools and good jobs today – indispensable means of achieving a smaller state and a stronger society.
My argument is simply one of affordability (including, by the way, by dropping the triple lock) if our public finances are going to be sustainable.
A hypothetical, perfectly average 58-year-old could have increased their wealth by 40 per cent between 2017 and 2022, and paid very little tax, all by following the rules.
Every worker should have a pot-for-life, into which all their employers over their working life are obliged to pay.
Turning complaints about headline figures into a detailed programme to bring them down would teach us a lot about whoever tried it.
Over this period, the UK’s economic growth was level with the US’s and exceeded the other five members of the G7. In other words, on international comparisons, we did well.
The old, simplistic idea of ‘learn, work, retire’ is badly out-of-date – but 20th-century thinking is preventing the UK from moving on.
A lower tax burden will be impossible without less supply of government. And for there to be less supply, there must first be less demand.
As a former Brexit Secretary, I know that we can use our Brexit freedoms to achieve incredible things. Changes to EU regulations in our five growth industries will mean that we can deliver the very best for our great country,