In a wide-ranging article, the former Brexit Secretary takes the current administration to task amidst their refusal to heed the lessons of history through their current, reckless mismanagement of the economy.
"...there has been a lot of hissing on the Tory benches of late after Boris Johnson’s decision to rack up national insurance payments. True, after much honking and squawking, the din died down by the time the NI hike came to a vote. But many of us remain deeply disturbed by the direction of Government economic policy.
We are heading down a road that history teaches led to national ruination and political disaster for my party when it was last attempted. At 36 per cent of national output the tax burden in the UK is at its highest level for 70 years and is set to go even higher. For Tory MPs fearful of losing their seats, it is worth bearing in mind that no government in recent times has raised taxes and then gone on to win an election.
Margaret Thatcher cut taxes sharply and went on to win three elections. John Major put them up and lost spectacularly. Tony Blair fought off attempts by Gordon Brown to raise taxes and won twice. Brown, as Prime Minister, put them up and lost. David Cameron resisted pressure for higher taxes in the austerity years and won.
Raising taxes beyond a certain point – and we have reached it – just does not work."
Cutting taxes, by contrast does work: it stimulates investment, increases growth, cuts deficits and raises living standards. Let us hope the Chancellor and his Treasury team have not jettisoned every lesson of the last forty years. To do so would spell political and economic ruination.
The full article can be read here with a link to the original beneath it:
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