The criticism of him in the newspaper most read by Party activists took little account of the effects of war and pandemic on the choices he must make.
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.
Essentially, the Solvency 2 regulations make it difficult for our pensions and insurance firms to invest in long-term, secure, fixed assets in the UK.
A basic rule of thumb comes to mind and seems universally accepted: you should be able to keep at least half of every extra pound you earn.
“Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” Here is my five point plan.
Our manifesto couldn’t reasonably be expected to predict the freak consequences of Covid in terms of rapid wage growth.
By reminding backbenchers of manifesto commitments on debt control, he is squaring up for battles to come over the spending review.
We should base it on an index of cumulative change in wages.
The problem is that spiralling spending demands quickly use up the options which voters don’t notice. Eventually you need other big sources of revenue,
But this electoral Titan has an Achilles heel – tax rises which, rather than planning or HS2, are the real threat to future Chesham & Amershams.
And we chat to the young waiter, the question I’m asking is: “why wait until young people are 22 for auto-enrolment to begin?”
Conservative messaging implies an implicit belief that there are no major state functions ripe for reform in any fiscal repair.
The big questions are about an EU deal and Covid recovery. But one of the other places to look is how we turn our savings into investments.
It is right that younger generations pay the soaring costs of unfunded commitments to older citizens, that is how it has always been.