WHAT DID CUTS EVER DO FOR BRITAIN BESIDES BRING DECADES OF ECONOMIC GROWTH?:

Osborne will be the most hated man in Britain. But history tells us unpopular Chancellors are the best (Dominic Sandbrook, 21st October 2010, Daily Mail)

[I]nstead of making deep cuts, [Denis Healey] threw even more money around, with spending going up in cash terms by a staggering 35 per cent in just 12 months.

For a few months, Healey basked in the glow of national popularity. Labour won a ­second election in October 1974, and all seemed rosy. But what happened next is a ­chilling reminder of what could have been our fate if George Osborne had not had the ­courage to start cutting.

By 1975, inflation had reached an eye-watering 25 per cent, while public borrowing had more than doubled in just two years. Twelve months later, with Britain on the brink of bankruptcy, Healey had to go cap in hand to the IMF for a bail-out.

Britain had been humiliated. Our nation’s finances were in ruins, and it was not until the following decade and the courageous policies of Margaret Thatcher that we shed the shameful reputation of being the Sick Man of Europe.

Thankfully, Osborne seems to be following the example of a rather different Labour ­Chancellor. In 1931, Philip Snowden confronted not merely a ­banking collapse that dwarfs anything we have ­experienced in the past few years, but a massive surge in unemployment and a projected ­deficit of £120 million (roughly £34 billion today).

As Britain’s first-ever Labour Chancellor, Snowden confronted an overwhelming challenge. But he had the courage to face up to it, defying his party critics and slashing a then-record £70 million (£20 billion today) in benefits.

Even now, many Left-wingers revile him as a flint-hearted ­villain. But in the long run, it was the right decision for the British people.

By 1935, long before almost every other Western country, Britain was heading towards a recovery built on solid and ­lasting foundations.

Reflecting on the lessons of history, even those people who stand to lose from Osborne’s brave and deep cuts ought to breathe a sigh of relief that he has learned from his predecessor’s example.

Yet with many departmental budgets slashed by 25 per cent, with public spending slashed by £83 billion by 2015 and with an estimated 500,000 jobs set to go in the public sector, the Chancellor can be under no illusions.

For the next few months, even years, he will probably be the most hated man in Britain.

But the truth is that when a ­Chancellor is hated, as Sir Geoffrey Howe was during the early years of the Thatcher ­revolution, he is usually doing something right.