This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/23/philip-hammond-borrow-theresa-may-inertia-tories
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| If Hammond won’t borrow to build the future, May needs a chancellor who will | If Hammond won’t borrow to build the future, May needs a chancellor who will |
| (13 days later) | |
| There are lots of candidates for Theresa May’s worst decision since becoming prime minister, but one of her biggest mistakes was also the most inexplicable. Inexplicable because her speech on the steps of Downing Street, immediately after succeeding David Cameron, suggested that she did “get it”. | There are lots of candidates for Theresa May’s worst decision since becoming prime minister, but one of her biggest mistakes was also the most inexplicable. Inexplicable because her speech on the steps of Downing Street, immediately after succeeding David Cameron, suggested that she did “get it”. |
| With her talk of prioritising “the ordinary working-class family” rather than the wealthy when it came to taxes; of listening to those “who can just about manage” rather than the powerful when passing new laws; and in promising to listen to the young rather than “the privileged few”, she appeared to understand that the poorer Britons who had flocked to the polls for the first time in living memory hadn’t necessarily backed Brexit because they had been persuaded by Bill Cash MP’s pamphlets on national sovereignty. They contributed to the largest ever popular vote in British history because they wanted fundamental reordering of the nation’s priorities. | With her talk of prioritising “the ordinary working-class family” rather than the wealthy when it came to taxes; of listening to those “who can just about manage” rather than the powerful when passing new laws; and in promising to listen to the young rather than “the privileged few”, she appeared to understand that the poorer Britons who had flocked to the polls for the first time in living memory hadn’t necessarily backed Brexit because they had been persuaded by Bill Cash MP’s pamphlets on national sovereignty. They contributed to the largest ever popular vote in British history because they wanted fundamental reordering of the nation’s priorities. |
| Why on earth, then, in one of her first acts, did she appoint the ultra-cautious Philip Hammond as her chancellor of the exchequer? | Why on earth, then, in one of her first acts, did she appoint the ultra-cautious Philip Hammond as her chancellor of the exchequer? |
| If appointing Hammond had been the only act of its kind – perhaps as a check on the enthusiasm for Brexit of David Davis, Liam Fox and Boris Johnson – it might have been justifiable, but so many other appointments to key departments communicated continuity rather than change. Damian Green. James Brokenshire. Karen Bradley. David Gauke. All might be capable ministers – but where were the radicals with the vision to respond to the times? | If appointing Hammond had been the only act of its kind – perhaps as a check on the enthusiasm for Brexit of David Davis, Liam Fox and Boris Johnson – it might have been justifiable, but so many other appointments to key departments communicated continuity rather than change. Damian Green. James Brokenshire. Karen Bradley. David Gauke. All might be capable ministers – but where were the radicals with the vision to respond to the times? |
| And by “the times” I mean America voting for Trump, Britain voting for Brexit, the more-Ukip-than-Ukip AfD becoming Germany’s third party, and – most recently – the 31-year-old leader of a staunchly anti-immigration party set to become Austria’s chancellor. Six months ago, steady-as-she-goes politicians drew too much comfort from the victories of Emmanuel Macron in France and Mark Rutte in Holland. Macron may have prevailed in France but in the first round of presidential elections the overwhelming majority of votes went to candidates offering change and greater Euroscepticism. Rutte defeated the hard-right Geert Wilders, but only by shifting his own party’s platform to meet many of his opponent’s concerns. | And by “the times” I mean America voting for Trump, Britain voting for Brexit, the more-Ukip-than-Ukip AfD becoming Germany’s third party, and – most recently – the 31-year-old leader of a staunchly anti-immigration party set to become Austria’s chancellor. Six months ago, steady-as-she-goes politicians drew too much comfort from the victories of Emmanuel Macron in France and Mark Rutte in Holland. Macron may have prevailed in France but in the first round of presidential elections the overwhelming majority of votes went to candidates offering change and greater Euroscepticism. Rutte defeated the hard-right Geert Wilders, but only by shifting his own party’s platform to meet many of his opponent’s concerns. |
| There is no justification for complacency about so-called populism rocking western politics. Although the economic difficulties of recent years have intensified public anger, populism is not just caused by the austerity of the post-crash decade and therefore likely to pass soon. If the economic and social statistics that pour into the governments of the advanced world had been studied more carefully, there would have been less surprise at the electoral earthquakes – and, better still, they might perhaps have been anticipated with faster policy action. | There is no justification for complacency about so-called populism rocking western politics. Although the economic difficulties of recent years have intensified public anger, populism is not just caused by the austerity of the post-crash decade and therefore likely to pass soon. If the economic and social statistics that pour into the governments of the advanced world had been studied more carefully, there would have been less surprise at the electoral earthquakes – and, better still, they might perhaps have been anticipated with faster policy action. |
| As Henry Olsen has documented at UnHerd, the data was flashing red at politicians in multiple ways. There was the fall in wages of the least well-paid – even before the banks blew up. Additionally, there’s been a dropping out of the labour market by working-class men, a decline in the housing stock within disadvantaged communities, and a huge failure by certain social groups to finish education. While the aftershocks of the crash may pass, the challenges of automation and competition from emerging nations will – at the very least – persist. | As Henry Olsen has documented at UnHerd, the data was flashing red at politicians in multiple ways. There was the fall in wages of the least well-paid – even before the banks blew up. Additionally, there’s been a dropping out of the labour market by working-class men, a decline in the housing stock within disadvantaged communities, and a huge failure by certain social groups to finish education. While the aftershocks of the crash may pass, the challenges of automation and competition from emerging nations will – at the very least – persist. |
| Politicians who get this are all too rare – and it was odd that one Conservative who has been talking about political disruption ever since he entered parliament in 2010 was sacked by May, in her otherwise very limited post-election reshuffle. Robert Halfon, who had prophetically warned the Tories not to underestimate Jeremy Corbyn, recently gave a powerful speech to the Centre for Policy Studies in which he concluded that his party had “no message or narrative”. “No one really understands what Conservatism is all about, except in terms of austerity, economics and Brexit,” he said. He went on to suggest, not for the first time, that the Tory logo should be changed from a tree to a ladder – to communicate a commitment to opportunity and advancement for people in harder-pressed communities of the kind he represents, in Harlow. | Politicians who get this are all too rare – and it was odd that one Conservative who has been talking about political disruption ever since he entered parliament in 2010 was sacked by May, in her otherwise very limited post-election reshuffle. Robert Halfon, who had prophetically warned the Tories not to underestimate Jeremy Corbyn, recently gave a powerful speech to the Centre for Policy Studies in which he concluded that his party had “no message or narrative”. “No one really understands what Conservatism is all about, except in terms of austerity, economics and Brexit,” he said. He went on to suggest, not for the first time, that the Tory logo should be changed from a tree to a ladder – to communicate a commitment to opportunity and advancement for people in harder-pressed communities of the kind he represents, in Harlow. |
| Halfon is half-right, but Tories also need to be realistic. The technological and global headwinds mean growth and mobility of the kind we have been used to in the postwar era are going to be harder to deliver. Moreover, many Britons want security as much as advancement – and at the heart of their conception of security is an affordable home. | Halfon is half-right, but Tories also need to be realistic. The technological and global headwinds mean growth and mobility of the kind we have been used to in the postwar era are going to be harder to deliver. Moreover, many Britons want security as much as advancement – and at the heart of their conception of security is an affordable home. |
| So far the Tories have begun to talk a better game on housing, but the policies have been as small as the rhetoric has been outsized. And worse, in help-to-buy, they have an inflationary and counterproductive policy that boosts demand without increasing supply. | So far the Tories have begun to talk a better game on housing, but the policies have been as small as the rhetoric has been outsized. And worse, in help-to-buy, they have an inflationary and counterproductive policy that boosts demand without increasing supply. |
| And so, thankfully, the increasingly emboldened communities secretary, Sajid Javid, returned to a theme that he first set out a year ago when he ran on a joint ticket for the Tory leadership. Then, he argued that George Osborne’s policies had brought sufficient repair to the public finances that the country could afford to borrow £20bn more each year if that money was invested in infrastructure – especially more affordable housing in the south, better transport connections in the north, and better broadband for rural Britain. | And so, thankfully, the increasingly emboldened communities secretary, Sajid Javid, returned to a theme that he first set out a year ago when he ran on a joint ticket for the Tory leadership. Then, he argued that George Osborne’s policies had brought sufficient repair to the public finances that the country could afford to borrow £20bn more each year if that money was invested in infrastructure – especially more affordable housing in the south, better transport connections in the north, and better broadband for rural Britain. |
| Time is short for the Tories. If Hammond doesn’t embrace the Javid prescription in his budget there will be no time for the fruits of investments to be appreciated by voters by the time of the next election. If he won’t borrow to build for the future and to lubricate reforms such as universal credit, May needs to find a chancellor who will. | Time is short for the Tories. If Hammond doesn’t embrace the Javid prescription in his budget there will be no time for the fruits of investments to be appreciated by voters by the time of the next election. If he won’t borrow to build for the future and to lubricate reforms such as universal credit, May needs to find a chancellor who will. |
| • Tim Montgomerie is editor of UnHerd.com | • Tim Montgomerie is editor of UnHerd.com |
| Conservatives | Conservatives |
| Opinion | Opinion |
| Philip Hammond | Philip Hammond |
| Theresa May | Theresa May |
| comment | comment |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |