Given the resistance of Tory MPs to spending cuts and tax rises, Hammond’s easiest course would be to push any into the future. But this wouldn’t be problem-free…
That’s what Sarah Wollaston suggested on my show this week. Plus: my prison visit, sticking by your friends…and sticking with spending control in the Budget.
The Chancellor needs to help deliver the sense of direction so strikingly absent in Manchester last month, and indeed since last June’s election.
Her needs to deliver bold measures, but also show that he can read the politics and mood of the party and country.
It ought to be focused on those areas that the public really care about and where it can meaningfully offer useful policy ideas.
Letting disagreements about Brexit leak into the Budget’s treatment could deal the Government irreparable damage – and voters much harm.
To reduce investment in infrastructure or R&D is to take away from the future – just as surely as running up unsustainable debt does.
One radical option would be a new DCLG housing fund that local authorities would be able to bid for, if they can show there is support for more homes in their area.
Though if May moves Philip Hammond, or seeks to, she is also likely to move Boris Johnson, or try to.
This proposal already has considerable support from institutions, including the Yorkshire Building Society, who have published research into the benefits this change would bring.
Its awards consume roughly a quarter of public spending. It is hard to see where the tax hikes or spending scaleback to fund them will come from if the Chancellor sticks to his guns.
The Chancellor should commit to a Family Services Transformation Fund of £100 million over four years to help relationship support and post-separation support.