Jeremy Hunt

Like a doctor earning 100 grand, the state was borrowing 25 grand to be paid by future generations to pay that doctor's salary.

That was tough to deal with.

Then we had a pandemic, which meant we had to borrow 350 billion pounds to do the furlough scheme.

Then we had a

The Ukraine energy shock, which was kind of like the 1970s energy shock.

But that was decided by a vote.

I'm just talking about global shocks for a moment.

We can talk about Brexit, of course.

But my point is, how do we do in that period?

Actually, we did grow faster than comparable large economies like Japan, Germany or Italy.

But it was not as fast as we were used to.

And that's why people didn't feel rich.

And what I'm saying now is we've got to do the next thing now.

Nonsense.

And let me just explain that, because I think, first of all, I don't buy this story that the country is ungovernable.

I was in the cabinet for 11 of the 14 years the Conservatives were in office, and I never had any problem making really important long-term changes, often changes that would take beyond the electoral cycle to feed through.

As long as you're absolutely clear with your civil servants about what you want to do,

It is perfectly possible determined leaders can make changes.

But one of the things that has become clear to me is that your political capital, either as a minister or as a government, is at its highest when you arrive in office.

So if you're like chief executive of British Airways...