Liz Truss said she was going to do things differently and she has been true to her word. Her government has departed from two principles that have been supported by all the main parties for most of this country’s democratic history.
One is that public borrowing should be sustainable, constrained by rules that require debt to fall as a share of national income in normal times. The other is that, in times of national financial stringency, the burden of sacrifice should be borne by those with the broadest shoulders.
The new government’s emergency mini-Budget on Friday treated each of those principles with contempt. Most of the increase in borrowing announced by the chancellor was justified, needed to pay for the urgent, temporary and substantial subsidies required to keep energy bills at current levels. This will limit hardship, protect jobs, and prevent inflation from rising even higher.
