The hole at the heart of Tory economics

Whatever else is true of Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, they have communicated a fairly clear idea of what they think about economics. The same cannot be said of the Conservatives – and that is unlikely to change. What with Brexit, Corbyn-bashing and low-level culture wars, I suspect the 2019 general election campaign will be very light on discussion of Conservative economic policy.

In particular, my bet is that Boris Johnson will make it all the way to polling day without articulating a Johnsonian vision of economics. How big (or small) does he think the state should be? What proportion of GDP should public spending account for? Should economic policy liberate markets from regulation, or protect people from markets’ adverse outcomes? What’s the Tory plan for state aid and industrial strategy outside the EU? Is the Bank of England’s current mandate adequate to respond to the next crisis?

I do not expect answers to these questions between now and 12 December.