A test this Chancellor cannot afford to fail

LESS than eight months ago Rishi Sunak was a mere parliamentary under-secretary in the department of housing, communities and local government.

In ministerial terms, this is equivalent to the chap who makes sure the clocks are right and puts the cat out at night.

Today, following a truly vertiginous rise, he’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, charged with devising a Budget to keep the UK economy afloat through the global coronavirus nightmare.

Despite his inexperience he must chart a course bold and credible enough to convince the markets – and the British people – that the Government is competent and fully prepared for whatever is thrown at us.

Billions must be made available for cheap short-term loans to see small and mediumsized businesses through a deepening cash flow crisis. A VAT break, business-rate holiday and reduced National Insurance payments would also ease their burden in these anxious times.

Even the best-run companies, from tour operators to minicab firms, could founder with no money coming in. They cannot be abandoned. Just as crucially, support must be given to Britain’s 4.8million selfemployed, and close to a million more on zero-hours contracts.

If they’re unable to work, either through illness or plummeting demand, the bills don’t get paid. Just a month or two without income could spell ruin.

The surest way to help them – and to avoid a slump – is to keep people spending. The best way Mr Sunak can do that is to put more money in their pockets through general tax cuts.

He has some scope to be generous, thanks to the fiscal headroom earned by more than a decade of financial prudence since the 2008 crash.

We may not exactly be flush, but there is money to be found.

Ironically, the oil price crash also offers a bright spot on an otherwise dark horizon.

As long as the Government isn’t rash enough to raise fuel duty and retailers can contain their greed, a sharp fall in petrol prices could be just the boost businesses and families need.

True, this was to be the Budget which marked the end of austerity, launching a comprehensive infrastructure programme, levelling up the regions and revitalising public services after so many years of enforced frugality.

But while those things are still vital to Britain’s future, the overriding imperative for now is to beat coronavirus.

Mr Sunak has an impressive CV – Oxford and Stanford scholar, financial analyst, investment banker, hedge fund manager. He also has a cheerful, confident disposition.

Today will be the supreme test of his crisis management skills. Fresh to the job though he is, it’s a test he must not fail.