There are many things that can be done to resist the tide. The first would be for ministers to make the philosophical case for where state responsibility ends, and personal responsibility starts.
He was the most formidable Chancellor of the Twentieth Century and a titan of the modern Conservative Party – voting for Sunak and endorsing his approach in last summer’s Tory leadership election.,
Labour would abolish Universal Credit, which has coped well with the unprecedented pressures of this unprecedented last year.
The first group of savings are about making the state more efficient, the second about creating a state focused on the core tasks of government.
We don’t expect the shutdown to last in full until summer. But if it did, Britain might well be moving towards Universal Credit as a basic income.
That’s a legitimate political agenda, and people are quite welcome to vote for it. But they deserve to know what’s coming.
For me, the most concerning thing wasn’t being behind among the very young, but being behind among everyone under age 47.
By extending the ladder of opportunity to those who currently lack it, e can ensure the next generation climbs it.
If you appoint Duncan Smith to the post she now holds, as Cameron did in 2010, it follows that you must fund his plan fully.
The Chancellor has been fortunate that the public finances have improved substantially at a particularly convenient time.
The debate has come to symbolise much of what differentiates us from the Left: robust policy based on evidence that supports free markets, versus dogma based on statism.
It needs investment, but is a vast improvement on the system it replaces. The MPs who want a delay are misguided.
The Chancellor has not always been well treated by his neighbour, and deserves support over public spending. But he has mishandled his internal position over Brexit.
Behind the ‘jobs miracle’ lies a system, built on tax credits, which subsidises low pay and encourages businesses to over-hire at the expense of investment.
The system is all but designed to subsidise low wages, disincentivise productivity, and give retirees no stake in the UK maintaining a thriving, dynamic economy.