The Chancellor is groping his way, knowing well that the future is unknowable, trying to hold on to as much of the past as he can.
What normalisation should mean is the return to a functioning market economy where our wants and needs are met in today’s circumstances.
Given the Coronavirus uncertainties, whatever he announces could be even more provisional than most schemes of most Chancellors.
By removing red tape around the use of property, our town centres have a chance to be reborn – to allow what people, rather than planners, wish to see.
This ambitious business case is based on our experiences not only of recovering from the last downturn, but on the successes of the last three years.
The big picture is that Johnson is dashing for growth. We devoutly hope it works but the precedents aren’t promising.
But if you sup with Desmond, use a very long spoon. Plus: Remainer mania remains. And: Masked, I prepare to take the train.
Most town planners that you speak to will quietly admit that the planning system is designed to prevent development, not permit it.
We can still have a million new homes by the end of this parliament. But cutting regulation and boosting smaller firms is needed.
If the Housing Secretary is to survive, he will have to learn the art of sometimes saying no to property developers such as Richard Desmond.
In 2018, just to transport 4.7million tonnes of Russian coal was equivalent to a whopping 130 jumbo jets whizzing, non-stop, around the globe for a year.
A new collection of essays from Policy Exchange shows up some of the glaring defects of the planning system.
Plus: Ferguson’s evidence, two metres distance, Desmond’s donation, Jenrick’s response.
By using the new grant as an incentiv those who are looking to buy would be more likely to buy a new build, enabling supply to continue.
At the Centre for Policy Studies, we’ve teamed up with Sajid Javid to come up with a comprehensive set of ideas for tackling the challenges ahead.