Well, that didn’t go so prettily, did it? Neither the House of Commons dramatics, nor the political theatre of a promised tax cut, saved Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement from being savaged by right, left and centre. There are big lessons to be learned.
First, if you are going to pull a rabbit from a hat, make sure it’s a real, live and twitching rabbit, and not the airy promise of a possible bunny in two years’ time. I imagine the Treasury expected “Rishi’s tax surprise” or some such to feature on every front page. Well, oops. People are getting pretty desperate about money. They need real help right now, not an election-focused snap of the fingers some time ahead.
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