Thread by @rcolvile

Have written my column about the autumn of discontent that's looming for the govt - chiefly because of the cavernous imbalance between the demands on the Treasury and its ability to meet them thetimes.co.uk/article/sunak-…

The headline talks about Boris's 'wild promises', and there are certainly a few (cough royal yacht cough). But the bigger problem is the sheer number of causes that are highly deserving & that the govt is explicitly committed to, but which each need a few billion (or much more).

Eg:
- Social care
- NHS backlog
- New hospitals
- Levelling up strategy
- Business rates reform
- Net Zero
- Education catch-up

Then there is the comprehensive spending review, with every dept pleading for more cash to cope with aftermath of Brexit and Covid. And the UC uplift. And the triple lock. And and and.

And beyond that, there are the big structural pressures on spending - Covid legacy, interest payments on our debt, ageing population, sluggish productivity, decarbonisation...

There is obviously a tension between Johnson wanting to spend and Sunak not. But the bigger problem is that even Boris can't say yes to everyone (well he can, but that means raising taxes). To govern is to choose - and those choices are going to upset people whatever they are.

Lots more here on the details/pressures/politics - please give it a read thetimes.co.uk/article/sunak-…