What a relief! The madness of child benefit for all ends today

It makes no sense for the affluent middle classes to be showered with taxpayers’ cash, says Boris Johnson 

 

Many years ago, I had the privilege of supervising the expense accounts of the distinguished leader writers and columnists who adorned, and in some cases continue to adorn, these sacred spaces. It was, by and large, an easy job. As you would expect from thinkers steeped in Thatcherite doctrines of thrift and fiscal rigour, their claims were generally pitiful – second-class rail fares, potted shrimps, tiny jugs of house wine, the odd subscription to some unreadable journal of Middle Eastern affairs.

Every now and then there would be an economy drive, an attempt by management to cut further the meagre demands of my “cost centre” on the overall budget. I would be summoned for an audience with the glamorous managing editor, who was called Brenda. “Return to Brenda!” I would sing to myself, as I knocked on her office door.

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