British voters care less about tax rises than politicians think
So if you’re going to increase a tax, make it a big one
The Cornish pasty looms large in David Cameron’s memoirs. In 2012 the then Conservative government decided to levy vat on hot takeaway food such as the beefy snack. It was a measly scheme that would have raised an annual £110m ($140m; 0.005% of gdp). Outrage ensued. “Pasties,” Lord Cameron despaired. “I hadn’t even thought about pasties.” For page after page, he gaily recalls the scandal which saw headlines of “Let Them Eat Cold Pasty” and a Marie Antoinette lookalike hounding George Osborne, his chancellor of the exchequer.
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Britain August 3rd 2024
- What will Great British Energy do?
- A riot in Southport shows how the British far right is changing
- How deep is Britain’s fiscal “black hole”?
- Britain’s railways go from one extreme to another
- The disease that most afflicts England’s National Health Service
- The race to become leader of Britain’s Conservatives
- Was the Bank of England right to start lowering interest rates?
- British voters care less about tax rises than politicians think
From the August 3rd 2024 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Britain
The evolution of Britain’s extreme right
White nationalism has become more amorphous and more online
Inside the unrest disfiguring English cities
Anger over immigration will be a recruiting opportunity for the far right
Was the Bank of England right to start lowering interest rates?
Andrew Bailey takes a calculated risk
What will Great British Energy do?
The new body’s first job is to unblock private investment
Britain’s railways go from one extreme to another
Departing: privatisation. Destination: centralisation