Britain should borrow so we can build back better

There are signs that the government’s focus is on meeting budget targets at the expense of long-term investment, says Phil Thornton

The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has some decisions to make (PA)

It is only 15 years ago that a financial crisis very nearly brought the world economy to its knees, but some of the central lessons have been forgotten.

Although world leaders had the wherewithal to amass $1 trillion (£740bn today) to inject into the global economy to avert a depression, politicians swiftly rushed to claw back some of the money.

The UK was in the vanguard of this move where the coalition government and then-chancellor George Osborne imposed a programme of austerity with a mission to balance the books via cuts to spending.