Former Tory PM advisers call for government to spend big on coronavirus recovery
A group of former economic advisers to a string of Tory prime ministers and chancellors have called for a swathe of jobs programmes and fiscal spending to aid the UK’s economic recovery.
The group called for £30bn investment into high growth firms, a new retraining fund, a doubling of further education funding and tax reform.
The former advisers have urged that Boris Johnson’s government only implement tax cuts that cut “the cost of employment through reducing the burden of employer national insurance contributions” and that cutting VAT is not prioritised.
They have also called for a pledge from chancellor Rishi Sunak that the government will aim to have debt falling as a share of GDP by 2024.
The paper was written for think tank Onward and published today.
Authors of the paper were advisers for David Cameron, George Osborne, Theresa May, Sajid Javid and Philip Hammond.
Mats Persson, former special adviser to David Cameron and Sajid Javid, said: “The scale of the current crisis must be matched in kind by the response, that allows the kitchen sink to be thrown at the recovery now but sees debt beginning to fall by the end of this parliament.
“This is not a time for chasing short-term headlines or tinkering with micro changes that will achieve little.”
Will Tanner, former special adviser to Theresa May and now Director of Onward, added: “The chancellor must focus his immediate attention on creating jobs, jobs, jobs. That means prioritising any tax cutting measures at relieving pressure on employers.”
Sunak will address parliament on Wednesday to deliver his summer economic statement, where he is expected to announce part of his vision for the UK’s post-Covid recovery.
Policy moves that have been mooted as potential announcements from the chancellor are a temporary VAT cut or one-off cash payments.
The Observer also reported today that Sunak was considering handing £500 to every adult and £250 to every child in the country to spend on sectors worst affected by the coronavirus crisis.
The plans, which have been drawn up by left-leaning think tank the Resolution Foundation, would see people handed vouchers to spend on sectors such as hospitality and bricks and mortar retail.