The best way to end austerity

If the government really is going to relax austerity, we might as well be smart about how we spend the money. Matthew Lynn has five suggestions that should help the economy grow.

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Nobody likes to see their pay frozen forever
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It is surprising how quickly the political mood can change. Only two years ago the Conservatives won a secure majority on a programme of maintaining austerity, keeping a tight rein on public spending, getting the deficit under control, and bringing the budget back into balance. Now, following the loss of their majority, and in the face of a resurgent Labour Party that has decided the magic money tree is a real thing, the government looks set to abandon that restraint, or at least ease up on it for a couple of years. All of a sudden, austerity is about as popular as clamshell phones.

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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.