It should be remembered that the arts contributes more to Britain’s international earnings, in the aggregate, than does the City of London.
It’s a good thing for former senior Ministers to keep thinking, going and contributing, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see a comeback to government.
Post-Covid, the environment is likely to be egalitarian and interventionist. For libertarian, small state Eurosceptics, this must come as a disappointment.
No fuel duty rises, self-employed taxes, income tax rises, more taxes on food and drink – and the like.
The Government has to generate revenue quickly, but austerity and spending cuts are not viable options.
It should remove those taxes and regulations that will stop business from applying their ingenuity on the problem of rebuilding from the ruins.
By adapting the Statutory Maternity Pay system, the Chancellor’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will improve the lives of thousands of people.
The Chancellor should make further provision for them. But the vast though necessary expansion of state spending will need emergency powers-type checks.
The Coronavirus will punch a hole in Sunak’s sums sufficient to throw levelling-up, Boosterism, Brexit bonuses – what have you – off course.
Finally, the television licence. The principle ought to be that those who wish to watch the BBC pay a fee and those who don’t watch it do not.
The most important sector is one usually ignored. Small firms constitute 99 per cent of all business in the country.
That’s a legitimate political agenda, and people are quite welcome to vote for it. But they deserve to know what’s coming.
Our businesses have the ingenuity, skills and talent to succeed, but they need to know what the future will hold before they can invest, hire and deliver.
The ignorance of many MPs and ministers towards the state of seaside communities is particularly surprising as coastal constituencies elect a quarter of all MPs.
The Chancellor should use his statement on Wednesday to announce a comprehensive and ambitious plan to counter the threat.