Memo to Johann Hari: this government isn’t planning to “pay off our debt rapidly”

What is the biggest lie in British politics? According to a new post by Johann Hari, it’s that our debt is at dangerously high levels. “As a proportion of GDP,” he writes, “Britain’s national debt has been higher than it is now for 200 of the past 250 years.” He makes some pugnacious points that will have you nodding enthusiastically, or groaning wearily, depending on your political persuasion.

But he also undermines his argument right from the off, in his description of the Big Lie itself. Here it is:

“Here’s the lie. We are in a debt crisis. Our national debt is dangerously and historically high. We are being threatened by the international bond markets. The way out is to pay off our debt rapidly. Only that will restore ‘confidence’, and therefore economic growth. Every step of this program is false, and endangers you.”