David Cameron spent his early days as Leader of the Opposition persuading voters he was the non-Thatcher, more the amiable heir to Blair. No Iron Man he. Just a green softie who wouldn't spend one pound less on the public services than big spender Gordon Brown. No need to make hard choices: simply share the benefits of growth between Tories clamouring for tax cuts and Labour voters demanding still more spending on the welfare state.
That was then, and this is now. The nation's finances are an unsustainable shambles. And the end of the recession won't do much to correct the situation. Britain is not broke because the economy turned down. Indeed, the downturn has been milder in Britain than in most other European countries.
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