Imagine an alternative world. Liz Truss has just completed her first year in office this weekend, having miraculously survived when her mini-budget triggered the worst political and economic meltdown since Black Wednesday.
Andrew Bailey has been fired as Bank of England governor, the Office for Budget Responsibility has been abolished and the Treasury has been reformed: it’s no longer a bastion of orthodoxy but a ward of No 10’s pro-growth coalition. The International Monetary Fund has been ignored – despite the pound hitting a record low against the dollar – while high inflation and borrowing costs have fuelled a soaraway government deficit.
