Boris Johnson’s government has done the right thing, for all the wrong reasons

Editorial: Rishi Sunak now calls the introduction of a windfall tax ‘pragmatic’ – but voters can see that the Tories never wanted to do it, in stark contrast to the opposition

(Dave Brown)

Credit where credit is due: Rishi Sunak has “delivered”, in the current Conservative catchphrase. The chancellor’s package of help for people faced with fuel poverty is bold and will make a real difference, with those most in need getting £1,200, those on benefits receiving a median payment of £650, and a £400 grant going to every household. It is almost socialist in flavour.

The think tanks have confirmed its strongly redistributive effects, it is part-funded by a tax on business and by public borrowing. It also marks a point where the government abandoned all pretence of following Thatcherite fiscal principles, let alone austerity, and became wholeheartedly populist, or at least “one nation”. Mr Sunak himself called it “pragmatic”.

The spring statement, although derided and poorly designed, provided £22bn in cost of living support. This latest package adds another £15bn, with £5bn coming from the windfall tax and £10bn from good old fashioned borrowing. Apart from a few fundamentalist Tory backbenchers, no one seems to mind.