Helm: voters want a free lunch, but someone has to pay for the massive investment needed
In a podcast, Professor Sir Dieter Helm characterised the 4 July poll as “The free lunch election.” He said both Labour and the Conservatives are “seeking to deliver the cakeism we, the consumers and voters, want: more and better services, without paying for them…In the face of the massive capital maintenance and investment needs across many sectors (infrastructure, the NHS, education, water, energy), someone has to pay…
“All of this costs, but we don’t want to pay. We want a free lunch. This is not sustainable for our citizens, societies and businesses. The opinion polls suggest that people don’t buy this empty promise, yet they seem set to vote for it. Because it is not sustainable, it will not be sustained. All the promises we like hearing will turn out to be empty – we will have to pay for our lunch.”
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