How other countries have managed to cut their deficits

Interesting FOI disclosure: the Treasury’s in-house assessment of how “fiscal consolidations” have worked in other countries.

Some chunky redactions, alas. But you can see what you’re permitted to here.

My own FOI request to see this document was rejected. Someone else must’ve written a better phrased letter.

Meanwhile, the issue of whether the Tories have run away from their first year cuts rattles on.

There’s been a very big change in emphasis from “we’d cut early and anything else would be reckless” to “it would be reckless to cut too much too early”.

The trigger for this must be the anaemic growth figure for the fourth quarter of 2009 and the slight narrowing in the polls which both main parties have picked up in their private polling.