Are Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak asking the right question as they approach the spring Budget? For the Chancellor and Prime Minister, the key issue is ‘how can we cut taxes in a way that will get us credit with voters?’ But polling by YouGov for today’s Times suggests voters might want them to ask a different question about improving public services, with 62 per cent saying that the government should prioritise spending more on public services rather than cutting taxes.

Hunt won that argument, but seems to have forgotten about it now he is Chancellor

The curious thing is that Hunt used to make a similar argument when he was Health Secretary. When he was negotiating a longer-term funding settlement for the NHS, Hunt argued to cabinet meetings that Conservative voters are less bothered about low taxes than they are about a safe and secure old age, one in which they can be confident they will have good quality healthcare, whether they find themselves suffering from dementia or cancer. He won that argument, but seems to have forgotten about it now he is Chancellor.

Tory MPs haven’t, though: a good chunk of them have signed a letter today calling for more funding for local authorities. The cross-party county APPG (All-party Parliamentary Group) writes: ‘We are therefore exceptionally concerned that without any additional investment, the overwhelming majority of upper tier councils in our area are planning service reductions and higher council tax in order that they can pass a balanced budget for the next financial year, as they are legally required to do so.’

It urges Sunak and Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove to provide more funding, and ‘that any additional funding you are able to secure should be directed towards children’s services and home to school transport as combined these are exerting unprecedented pressure on local government services’.

So it’s not just about services for people in old age, but all ages. Some of the appalling stories of child deaths recently have underlined how much pressure social services are under. Social workers are carrying unsustainable caseloads which mean children can pass through the gaps with tragic consequences. Voters notice these stories, even if they don’t pay attention generally to the way social services are funded. If such spending areas are causing concern, then voters might wonder whether a pre-election bribe was really what they wanted more than anything else.