Yes, some rises are inevitable. But they must be balanced by spending reductions elsewhere if economic policy is to be practicable and coherent.
It has fascinated me since growing up in a single parent family on the outskirts of Belfast – before attending the lowest-performing secondary school in Northern Ireland.
41 per cent say spending should rise further and be funded by a specific hike, while 44 per cent oppose the idea.
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.
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.
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.
Brexit has transformed the context in which we plan our security. Commitments to our European neighbours and Global Britain require more money.
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.
The new Defence Secretary’s rawness may make him more likely to dig in against the Treasury than otherwise – precisely because he has a point to prove.
The lack of a Conservative Commons majority prevented the Chancellor from doing much more than playing it safe – which he did effectively.
It continues to clear the deficit, prepare for Brexit, and back our businesses with the support they need to boost productivity.
Let’s have Policy Board outside of the constraints of the Government machine – and a commission on what Britain should look like post-Brexit.
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…
The Chancellor needs to help deliver the sense of direction so strikingly absent in Manchester last month, and indeed since last June’s election.
Money would go from one person through a bureaucracy to another person in the same household – who probably holds a joint bank account with the first person.