Back when it all began in 2010, the then Conservative chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, delivered what he described as “this unavoidable budget”. A package of savage spending cuts and painful tax rises lay at its heart. The message was that the Tory-led coalition was riding to the rescue to put right the wrongs of 13 years of Labour government, and, after a short sharp shock of austerity, soon all would be a bed of economic roses.
More than 12 years on, last Thursday Jeremy Hunt was offering yet more painful medicine, and still little sign at all of rosier times ahead. In the short term taxes would have to rise again, this time by a massive £25bn ($30bn), Hunt said, while spending would need to be reined in
