How can a nation that has enjoyed no productivity growth in 15 years, is still reeling from the economic shocks of Brexit, Covid and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and where debt is equivalent to 100 per cent of GDP, afford sweeping tax cuts? The short answer is: it can’t. The longer answer is the same, but involves several hundred words about the internal dynamics of the Conservative Party.
Last November, the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, cut taxes. Not by as much as he had raised them, of course. This is still set to be the most tax-raising parliament in history. But by taking 2p off the main rate of National Insurance, he pulled the trigger on the Tories’ general election strategy. And he’s not done yet.
