Budget 2021: when should Rishi Sunak balance the books?
b'The chancellor told the Conservative Party Conference last year that \\u201cthis Conservative government will always balance the books\\u201d. But the economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis has led to record borrowing, an increasing debt and a depressed outlook for the economy \\u2013 and likely tax revenues \\u2013 in the medium term.\\n\\nHowever, as the pandemic continues, so will the government\\u2019s role in supporting the economy \\u2013 and the cost of servicing its debt is currently at record lows. So does the government need to embark on a programme of fiscal consolidation? And if so, when?\\n\\nWhether or not Sunak intends to balance the books in this budget, what balance should he strike between tax and spending measures? In the week before the chancellor\\u2019s second budget, the Institute for Government brought together an expert panel to discuss these questions.\\n\\nOur panel:\\n\\nSir Robert Chote, former Chairman of the Office of Budget Responsibility, 2010\\u201320\\nSimon Wren-Lewis, Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford\\nSarah Carlson, Senior Vice President, Sovereign Risk Group at Moody\\u2019s Investor Service\\nTimothy Pitt, Partner at Flint Global and former special adviser\\n\\nThe event was chaired by Dr Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government.'