8 long years
Just a reminder that it took 8 years before Margaret Thatcher delivered a significant tax cut and she had North Sea oil. Even so taxes were still higher when she left office than they had been when she became PM. All those VAT rises and income tax band freezes during a period of high inflation really, really hurt.
But to listen to the two candidates to lead the Tory Party you would think either, that she cut taxes from day one or that she did so the second she found some money down the back of a sofa.
Such is the power of myths, they place such a huge burden of expectation on future generations, that it is almost impossible to resist.
But today those wishing to resist economic illiteracy have some new ammunition.
Public sector borrowing in June was £22.9bn, the second highest June figure since records began and higher than last year’s borrowing in the same month.
So maybe, just maybe, someone should ask the candidates to lead the Tory party: “Where is the money for tax cuts coming from?”
Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.