Today, the Chancellor will attempt to write this government into a grand historical narrative that stretches back in Labour folklore to 1945.
It was then, Rachel Reeves will say this afternoon, that the Labour Party “rebuilt our country out of the rubble of the Second World War.” Moving forward a couple of decades she will declare that the Labour Party rebuilt Britain again in 1964 “with the white heat of technology.”
The penultimate chapter of this potted history concerns 1997, when “the Labour Party rebuilt our schools and hospitals” and finally – you’ve guessed it – “Today, it falls to this Labour Party…to rebuild Britain once again.”
This uplifting version of 20th century left-wing history was briefed to journalists last night as a tease of what the Chancellor is expected to tell MPs when she gets to her feet in the Commons this afternoon.
We’re told she will also pledge to create an economy “that is growing, creating wealth and opportunity for all” and that she will acknowledge “there are no shortcuts” to make this journey an easy one.
That’s true, but from what we understand of the government’s tax and regulatory plans it’s more a case of roadblocks and obstacles.
There will be winners in tomorrow’s Budget. Those earning the lowest will get a pay rise; large infrastructure projects will get a green light; there will be more money for schools; more money for the NHS; and, we hope, great strides forward in planning reform and house building ambitions.
But if those are the treats, what are the tricks? Higher taxes; increased costs on business; a less competitive economy; a poke in the eye for investor confidence; an expansion of the state and of bureaucratic authority.
These trade offs, as ministers insist on describing such choices, will come at a price.
We have to hope that the Chancellor pulls back from the extremities of what’s been leaked, briefed and floated in recent weeks because rebuilding Britain, in the spirit of 1945, 1964 and 1997 will require people to build businesses.
The government has been warned, in public and in private, by top CEOs and start-up founders, that businesses of all sizes need support. Today we shall find out if those warnings have fallen on deaf ears.