If the war lasts a few years at most, the Chancellor can take the hit. If it’s a new normal that lasts for decades, the outlook is grim.
When it comes to helping working people, a tax cut to hand would be the cancellation of the Health and Social Care Levy.
Their votes against today’s measures come risk-free – since, if the Labour leader holds his course, there’s no chance of them being defeated.
There should be a growth target to complement the inflation target – to drive government departments to take actions that will promote more UK activity and jobs.
The Chancellor will have have more money to play with than was forecast. How he uses these additional resources will tell us a great deal about his priorities.
As the jobs market expands, the taper could be lowered. This would leave low hours workers with more money, helping accelerate them into full-time work.
If the Treasury gets its way, the Chancellor will score a big victory. But Ministers should watch for Labour stealing their thunder over taper rates.
The overseas aid and Universal Credit decisions suggest that, for the first time in a while, the cause of fiscal conservatism is gaining the upper hand.
There may some ingenious halfway house solution. But it is hard to say how extending it for another year can be avoided.
We found over a million people excluded from the Government schemes are struggling to pay for food and everyday essentials.
The Prime Minster could do worse than dust down the Social Justice Outcomes Framework published by the Coalition Government.
Labour would abolish Universal Credit, which has coped well with the unprecedented pressures of this unprecedented last year.
The levelling up agenda depends upon nation-wide digital inclusivity. If we give up on this, we will be trying to deliver it with one hand held behind our back.
The bottom line is that no-one has to make these dangerous journeys. We need to be crystal clear about that.