Rules to please the markets will not provide freedom to achieve growth

In 1980, during the heyday of monetarism, the then governor of the Bank of England, Gordon Richardson, told me that by adopting this strange doctrine Mrs Thatcher had "created a rod for her own back".

- William Keegan @williamkeegan

The beleaguered chancellor, Rachel Reeves, did something similar when binding herself needlessly to "ironclad" fiscal rules, which have, to mix metaphors, tied her in knots. I also thought it rash to rule out the biggest revenue earners - income tax, employees' national insurance and VAT - should the moment come when pressures on public spending, not least from an ageing population, raised the need for serious increases in taxation.

Now it's widely assumed that in calling a pre-budget press conference in Downing Street last week, Ms Reeves was, in a cack-handed way, preparing the ground for income tax increases that would break her previous promises.