What the new government must do first

After an exhausting election, the incoming administration is expected to introduce reforms immediately. But which ones are most urgent? The Spectator asked some of its favourite writers and thinkers to advise the new Prime Minister

Stabilise the economy

The new government now has to move with utmost swiftness to stabilise British public finances, which Gordon Brown has left in a truly abysmal condition. We are in the middle of the worst debt explosion in the Western world, according to the Bank for International Settlements, and nothing discussed during the election campaign would remotely suffice to bring the situation under control. On the contrary, there is a very real danger that it could now spiral, Greek-style, out of all control if foreign confidence in sterling slumps and long-term interest rates rise.

To avoid the grim fate of Geórgios Papandréou, Mr Cameron, if he becomes prime minister, needs to do two things right away. He must instruct George Osborne to wield the axe ruthlessly with the aim of returning to a balanced budget over a credible eight- to ten-year time frame. That means not only reversing Labour’s disastrous expansion of public sector spending, but encouraging business growth with incentives to innovate, invest and work. At the same time, he needs to initiate talks with the IMF in case external support proves to be necessary. In both cases, it is much better to act sooner than later. The mess we are in is the result of 13 squandered years in which an unprincipled government frittered away the achievements of the Thatcher era. We are back not just in 1979, but in 1976, the last time the IMF had to bail Britain out as a consequence of Labour’s economic mismanagement.

Niall Ferguson

Overhaul the constitution

The problem that has been exposed by this election campaign is that our political system doesn’t seem to represent the popular will very effectively.