but they don’t intend to lower expenditure during good times, just keep it steady and deliver a reduction in taxes. Sharing the proceeds of growth. It follows sequitously (tautologous and probably not even a word!) that the tax burden will rise as growth diminishes, and lead to cuts in spending to balance the books.

I’m all for parasols myself – lowering the national debt rather than cutting tax during the good times. Once the hospitals are clean.

I’m surprised that raising borrowing (again) is still a Tory policy – I thought they were having a go at Darling for intending to hand over £2bn of borrowed cash to poor people this Autumn.

“.. and presumably raising it when it rains”

That’s a non-sequitor (or is it a syllogisme ?)

Tax is not an umbrella. It is the means by which public expenditure is financed. The less expenditure in good times, the better the reserve position, which allows expenditure to rise in bad times, and the lower overall tax levels required – come rain or shine.

Instead, the Government will set a broad target for borrowing over future years, and whether it is likely to meet it will be assessed by an independent body.

During the last eleven years -well since 2001 when GB opened the public spending floodgates-the Conservatives have consistently argued that the proposed levels of public spending , when not allied to appropriate reforms are unsustainable. It seems to me that these warnings have been vindicated.

Your opposition to the proposed fuel tax stabiliser is noted.

At no point in the last 11 years have they suggested re-payment of national debt instead of investment in the NHS and other “wasteful” endeavours.

The principle behind Osborne’s fuel duty idea is quite clear – raise tax when the sun shines in order to lower it when it rains. That’s the principle, and it’s not consistent with the rest of Tory Tax policy, which is all about lowering tax when the sun shines (and presumably raising it when it rains)