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.
The Chancellor’s measures leave us well prepared to tackle its short-term challenges as well as helping to shape the long-term trajectory of the economy.
We can’t continue to favour projects such as Crossrail over developing infrastructure in other parts of the country which generate much greater relative returns.
Ministers have been asked to push the Government’s priorities – tackling crime, funding the NHS, “levelling up”. How can these be effected without faster growth?
In the second piece in our mini-series, the Chair of Homes for the North argues that driving public investment in housing towards the South East is not sustainable.
Asked about the future of Flybe, the Prime Minister adds he does “want to ensure regional connectivity”.
If we really are becoming the Party of Blue Collar Conservatives, our Party must become the change that we want to see.
Regulations should be applied lightly and Business Rates cut. Improving transport links must be championed.
The Conservative Party has been at the forefront of reforms which have helped the disadvantaged. Modern history is full of evidence of this vital strain of conservatism.
Ever since the EU referendum, there’s been renewed focus on how to help poorer places. Helpfully there is decades of evidence about what does and doesn’t work.
Bowman and Westlake’s policy ideas are perfectly compatible with this end, but pitching them as a city and town agenda risks creating a false impression.
The UK needs a state-of-the-art ‘gigafactory’, and it should be built here in the West Midlands alongside our established automotive cluster.
They are chosen not from a factional or ideological standpoint, but from what I see while doing the job of Mayor.
The then EU Budget Commissioner told me that giving control of this funding to national governments would make it subject to “democratic whim”.
The threshold for public procurement misses the point that purchasing power greatly varies. A fair price in one country may seem very expensive to others.