£7bn gets us on track

OF all the items on Boris Johnson’s ambitious political agenda, two galvanise him the most: His green revolution and levelling up Britain’s left-behind regions.

By unveiling £7billion for public transport outside London in Wednesday’s Budget, Rishi Sunak will tick both boxes.

Outside the capital, rail and bus travel is abysmal. Funding unglamorous but transformative schemes – with frequent services and cheap tickets – makes sense.

Not only will it improve lives (and bolster Tory support) in ‘Red Wall’ seats won from Labour, but it will encourage people out of their cars.

The Chancellor can afford this splurge because the strong post-Covid recovery has swelled the nation’s coffers more than expected. Taking on board this valuable lesson, one theme should run like a steel core through his Budget: Growth.

We can only extricate ourselves from the financial mess left by the pandemic by firing up the economy and boosting entrepreneurialism. Not strangling them with ever higher, un-Conservative taxes.