Budgets resemble the old French saying about taxation — the aim is to produce the maximum amount of fiscal feathers from the goose with the minimum amount of hissing. However, hissing is what a disgruntled and reactive Conservative party does best right now and the public-finance goose is a skinny, under-nourished beast.
That unpromising combination ensures that the Chancellor’s Budget tomorrow is an event high in risk to his reputation for sang-froid: a turning point, which now looks like a swansong.
