Time to spend

SIR – Allister Heath (Comment, October 11) sees the political past differently from me. I understood that Conservative governments managed the economy well but were parsimonious, preferring to let people spend their own earnings rather than confiscate them as tax. This is good in theory, as it allows the economy to flourish and gives people freedom.

However, it does depend on people having jobs that pay them enough. If there is a shortage of work, or wages are low, or people are unable to work for genuine reasons, the state has to provide a safety net.

Periodically, the electorate needs a Labour government to increase public spending, build hospitals, schools and social housing, and update welfare payments. Never was this more apparent than in 1997, when Tony Blair won a landslide victory. Usually, though, Labour overspends, wrecking the economy, and a Tory government comes in to fix it by being mean again.

After the crash of 2008 we had a double whammy: the end of a profligate Labour reign and a global recession. This led to Tory austerity measures which, we are told, have now paid off. But while employment is high, wages are low. It is therefore time to loosen the public purse strings again, but who will increase spending in those areas that so concern voters? A centrist Tory party – or Labour?

Jane O’nions

Sevenoaks, Kent