The budget is a month away and Guido expects little relief from the Chancellor. The Tories like to say they are “the party of low taxes”. Which rings a little hollow when the tax burden is now higher than it was under the dead hand of Gordon Brown in 2009 and it will, if the OBR is correct, hit a level not seen for two generations. It is as if Nigel Lawson never happened…

Britain now has a higher tax burden than Spain, the share of GDP taken in tax is a full 10 points higher than it is in Ireland and 8 points higher than the traditionally low tax USA. Governments will never be able to cut taxes as long as people look to the state to solve all their problems. The welfare state is a constant in most households, not just a safety net when you are sick or unemployed. In work benefits subsidise low pay. Having children – even if you can’t afford them – is financially incentivised. Labour bleat on about welfare cuts yet more than half of households receive more in benefits than they pay in taxes. This is not sustainable. If tax evasion is anything like the problem the left claim it is baffling that more tax is being collected nowadays than in the 70s…

Gordon Brown used to talk about prudence when he was squandering money. George Osborne claimed he would fix the roof and balance the budget in 5 years. The deficit lasted longer than Osborne’s political career…

The only way to cut taxes is to grow the economy. The way to turbo-charge the economy is to cut taxes on individuals and enterprises. The Tories seem to have forgotten that their purpose is not to just manage the welfare state. What is the point of the Tories if they don’t cut taxes?