Not a lot of people remember this but up until November 2008 the Conservatives, then in opposition as they had been for 11 years, continued to support the Labour Government's generous spending plans.
That month, as the fiscal crisis turned into the Great Recession and the deficit headed towards a record 10% of GDP, shadow chancellor George Osborne finally abandoned the policy and called for cuts. Osborne didn't exactly refer to the word 'austerity' which was a disparaging description used by his opponents, but that month can be regarded as the start of a fiscal strategy which has largely continued to this day.
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