What austerity?

Polly Toynbee has made a career out of shouting that we must be more like Sweden.

UK public spending grew from 38pc of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 to almost 50pc at the height of the 2020 pandemic after Rishi Sunak as chancellor announced huge taxpayer subsidies to pay people’s wages during lockdown.

Spending has since come down to 44pc of GDP but remains far higher than its pre-pandemic level.

And:

Sweden has one of the largest public sectors among OECD countries. Government spending was 49.2% of GDP in 2019, the fifth highest in the OECD

We have, in these recent years, become very much more like Sweden. It doesn’t seem to have made us - or anyone actually - any happier. So, having tried the experiment we find that it doesn’t work.

At which point that science thing comes into play. Theories are all very well but they must withstand experimental evidence - if they don’t then they’re failed theories. We have tested this, will being more like Sweden make Britain happier and the answer is no.

Ho Hum.

It’s also possible to wonder about something else. If government spending has risen by 6% of GDP - which is a lot, even a lorra lots - then what is this story about austerity? Seriously, what austerity?