Rishi rides to the rescue again in virus meltdown

HAVING the leadership of Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the Treasury has been immensely reassuring for this country in a world filled with uncertainty especially for jobs and businesses. At a time of absolute crisis when we went into lockdown it was this star of the British political system that delivered an unprecedented £ 300billion package to save the economy.

So we should not be surprised that once again it is Mr Sunak who is coming to the rescue of wage earners with a new package as parts of the economy face shutdown again.

It is not normal for a Conservative Chancellor to be splurging the cash or being a big spender. Generally you vote Tory for fiscal control and lower taxes.

But these are far from being normal times. So Mr Sunak is doing the correct thing by putting the taxpayers’ money into protecting jobs and businesses.

If people become unemployed and firms go to the wall as a consequence of necessary measures to protect people from coronavirus, then it will be far harder for the country to get back on its feet and start the road to recovery.

But in some ways this is the easy part for Mr Sunak. As we look further down the line, we will have to see how he intends to pay for it.

Another wave of austerity and spending cuts putting people on the dole seems to be counterproductive but so too would tax rises that would stop people spending and businesses investing.

Maybe when it comes to it, the Chancellor will have to put his faith in the principle that tax cuts actually increase revenue because it discourages avoidance.

That though is a debate for another day. For now the Chancellor has our support as he tries to keep the economy alive.