Are you and your family better off under the Tories?

This government is stuck in a doom loop of low growth, high taxes and neglected public services – with no ability or desire to find a way out, writes Pat McFadden

Rather than seize on Britain’s vast economic potential, the government is stuck in a Tory doom loop of low growth, high taxes and neglected public services (UK Parliament/AFP/Getty)

After 12 years in power, the government is desperate to find someone else to take responsibility for the state of the UK economy. 

In parliamentary debates on the autumn statement – the fourth budget this year from the fourth chancellor – Tory MP after Tory MP intoned it was all down to Putin and Covid. According to their argument, everything that has unfolded – the crisis in the pensions market, spikes in the cost of government and household borrowing, embarrassment on the world stage, low productivity, stagnating wages and the fragile economy – could in no way be attributed to 12 years of Conservative rule.

Of course, global factors have had a big impact. No one denies that. Both the pandemic and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine have had major economic implications for many countries. The question is how strong was the UK when faced with these external shocks, and what decisions – specific to this country – made things worse.