A former adviser on the 250 words Jeremy Hunt should read out at the budget

FISCAL RULES became fashionable in the 1990s, and now exist in every advanced country and most others. Britain’s first fiscal rule came with the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, which paved the way for a single European currency. Its first domestic rule dates to 1997.

Britain’s state indebtedness has risen dramatically since. In 1992 its debt-to-GDP ratio was 27%, rising to 42% in 1997 and 100% now. Debt levels are at or near record levels in France, Italy, Spain and America. In contrast, debt has been broadly stable in Germany and the Netherlands, and has fallen for 25 years in Sweden. All of these countries have fiscal rules—so fiscal rules do not guarantee good fiscal outcomes.