So Robert Chote, the well-respected economist at the head of the OBR, felt compelled to rebuke the PM in a public letter: ‘For the avoidance of doubt, I think it is important to point out that every forecast published by the OBR since the June 2010 Budget has incorporated the widely held assumption that tax increases and spending cuts reduce economic growth in the short term.’6 In short, austerity had hit growth.
