The British public is tired of austerity. So even supporters of the government have concluded from the unexpected success of Jeremy Corbyn’s new old Labour, which promised much higher spending and fiscal deficits than the Conservatives in last week’s general election But is it safe to give the public what it wants? Brexit is likely to bring economic disappointment. To add fiscal destabilisation to the mix would seem highly unwise.
The UK will remain an open trading economy dependent on the confidence of strangers, as investors and workers. It would be idiotic to jeopardise its reputation for sound management further in return for a brief high of larger fiscal deficits and debt. Yet this does not rule out different choices over revenue and spending. That is perfectly legitimate.
As Torsten Bell of the Resolution Foundation points out, fiscal austerity may refer to the deficit or to the level and structure of spending. Policy can affect the deficit by increasing revenue as well as by lowering spending. At the same time, spending can be changed, without altering the deficit, provided revenue is altered in an offsetting way.