Harry Fone: Local councils “cut to the bone?” Not if our Town Hall Rich List is anything to go by.

In the last financial year, there were over 500 council employees earning more than the Prime Minister.

Our survey. Are Tory members shifting towards backing tax rises? They divide over one to help fund the NHS.

41 per cent say spending should rise further and be funded by a specific hike, while 44 per cent oppose the idea.

Whatever happened to the Big Society? 1) Steve Moore: It could have worked had spending been cut Canada-Style

We must keep asking: ‘what’s the right level to pursue social repair?’ The nation is too large; the individual is too small. The community remains the right place.

WATCH: “Light at the end of the tunnel” – Hammond’s Spring Statement in full

The Chancellor dismisses the Opposition as “Eeyores” while declaring himself “positively tigger-like” about the prospects for the economy.

The Moggcast. “Russia is a rogue state”, and we should use “a Magnitsky-style law” to “target people close to the Kremlin”

Why he believes Brexit will make life harder for Putin. Plus: Can Hammond hold course in today’s Spring Statement? And how does faith fit into public life?

Which taxes should Tories cut? 1) Sam Dumitriu: No virtue-signalling giveaways, hammer taxes that hold back growth

After our recent series asked ‘What should Tories tax?’, the Adam Smith Institute’s Head of Research kicks off a new mini-series seeking routes to lower taxes.

Nicky Morgan: It’s too soon to abandon fiscal discipline, but the Spring Statement is a chance to communicate our vision

Day-to-day spending being brought back into balance is good news, and it makes some spending decisions easier, but beware hype about the ‘end of austerity’.

Williamson’s verdict at Westminster, not attempted murder in Salisbury, is our best guide to responding to Putin

Last month, he told the Defence Select Committee that Russia has ousted terrorism from the top of the national threat list – which has big spending implications.

Willetts revives our question. What should Tories tax?

Wanted: a grand bargain with voters, whereby some rises at the top end are traded off for others nearer the bottom.

Rejoice! At long last, the day-to-day Government finances are in surplus.

It’s later than Osborne planned, but good news nonetheless. Now Hammond must hold the course, and resist siren calls to start splashing the cash.

What should Tories tax? 3) Alex Wild: Tax income and consumption, not investment or business

A Council Tax revaluation, and higher bands for higher value properties, would be an acceptable price to pay in return for the abolition of Stamp Duty, too.

Albie Amankona: We need a real National Health Service – to make healthy living easy and unhealthy living difficult.

There needs to be a paradigm shift in policy and culture. Our state should work to keep us healthy and allow us as individuals to be responsible for our actions.

More money for the NHS? Don’t forget another big spending pressure point. More money for defence.

Brexit has transformed the context in which we plan our security. Commitments to our European neighbours and Global Britain require more money.

Owen Paterson: Why are we so insular, unimaginative and inward-looking about healthcare? Europe’s systems are better than the NHS.

In a whole host of countries – Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland – A&E waiting times are typically under an hour.

Holyrood’s tax powers should be a boon to Labour and the Tories

Both of the national parties are built around different attitudes to economic policy, and the Scottish Parliament’s new responsibilities will force tough choices on the SNP.