In the interest of the nation, Jeremy Hunt’s Budget must look to the long term

Editorial: If, as it would seem, a Conservative defeat is already beyond doubt, then the chancellor has little to lose from putting country, rather than party, first

The chancellor will present his Budget in the Commons on Wednesday (Jeff Overs/BBC/PA)

When the chancellor of the Exchequer rises to present his Budget in the Commons on Wednesday, he will be addressing two distinct audiences. The first will be made up of his fellow Conservatives, including MPs on his own benches, who will be hoping against hope that he can conjure up some stroke of genius that could save them and their party from the seemingly inevitable rout at the general election.

The other will be made up of the broad swathes of voters and their families, who have grown weary of a political process that has given them three prime ministers in as many years, without leaving most people any better off in any sense. On the contrary, per capita GDP has declined over the past year gone; NHS waiting lists are at record levels, and many local authorities have been cutting back public services for want of money. As every government surely knows, the purse of the nation is the key to the health of the nation.

Jeremy Hunt’s dilemma is that what may suit the interests of the first constituency is unlikely to do much to help the second, and vice versa. This is why, however difficult it might be for such a seasoned party operator as Mr Hunt – and for a prime minister who must know that the removal vans will almost certainly be drawing up at Downing Street as soon as the general election results are in – it is essential that, between them, they choose the latter.