Conclusions

This concluding chapter (a) compares all the episodes of fiscal squeeze in the UK over a century in terms of loss imposition, political costs to incumbents in pursuing fiscal squeeze, and the degree of state effort involved; (b) shows how the fiscal squeeze ‘game’ changed over a century (in terms of depth, length, composition, blame allocation, and of the tactics adopted, including stealth taxes and bear traps); (c) explores consequences of fiscal squeezes, and shows that a puzzle in the literature about apparently erratic voter ‘punishment’ of governments imposing austerity policies can be resolved if austerity is defined in terms of losses imposed rather than debt and deficit outcomes, and if political costs incurred by incumbents in pursuing fiscal squeeze are considered; (d) considers the future of fiscal squeeze, exploring what future fiscal squeezes will be like if past trends continue into the future.