“The Budget I have presented today is a hard one for all of us in Britain. It is dictated by the harsh reality of the world we live in. A severe Budget is a necessary element in any strategy for improving the overall performance of our economy.”
No, this is not a leaked excerpt of Rachel Reeves’s forthcoming budget speech. They are the words of Denis Healey, the last Chancellor to raise the basic rate of income tax, 50 years ago.
