Since the global financial crisis, growth has been held up as the solution to all our problems: the answer to stagnant wages, creaking public services, and a rising cost of living. And it would be, if we had done any of the things necessary to allow it to happen.
The Tories are meant to be the party that tells the truth to the voters. And retreating to knee-jerk Nimbyism is the opposite of truth-telling.
Even at the migration levels of the 2010s, Britain’s public services, housing supply and infrastructure have all struggled to keep up with demand. But the other issue is that it’s impossible to set policy for a country if you don’t actually know who’s in it.
With another Budget just around the corner, all eyes will be on whether the Chancellor can make things better, or at the very least not make them much worse.
Drumming up strong headlines, holding the government to account, and exposing hypocrisy worked well for Labour in Opposition. Now with these revelations about hidden donations to Starmer the Conservatives are giving them a taste of their own medicine.
Either we take inspiration from a time when Britain could actually build things, or we condemn ourselves to spending the future living in smaller, ever more expensive houses, and watching the conservative dream of a home-owning democracy slip away.
The first myth that needs dispelling is the idea that, since privatisation, our water companies have systematically under-invested and left what was a perfectly functioning system to degrade as executives line their pockets. That simply is not true.
Once the applicant is offered a place, and takes out a student loan to fund it, universities have near-certainty that they will get paid. All the risk is borne by young people and the taxpayer.
True, the PIP assessments are to be reformed – but we don’t know how. When details emerge, it’s critical they contain plans to address rising mental health claims which account for a significant chunk of claimants.
The idea of ‘remaking conservatism’ might sound counterintuitive. The clue’s in the name, after all. But the world’s oldest political party has not achieved that distinction by being unresponsive to changing times.
During the EU referendum, many politicians claimed to be concerned about younger generations’ futures. But they’ve been mysteriously quiet recently.
If we don’t push back against encroaching regulation, there is a very real risk that coercive policies can – and will – overstay their welcome.
They’re facing mass unemployment and freezes on their wages. The Government must do its utmost to change the situation.