It’s time for an honest conversation about tax in the UK. Successive Governments have pledged not to increase the tax burden on the public in their manifestos and then once in power they put in place policies that do the opposite.

Just look at the shift that has taken place in tax revenues since austerity started. In 2010, local government’s core spending power of £50bn was around 80% funded from local tax yield, with a further 20% subsidy from direct taxation. Fast forward to 2019 and the £46bn or so that local government will receive in core spending power in the coming year is outstripped by the £52bn that will be raised in local taxation. Local taxation is now clearly subsidising national spending.