A massive hike in corporation tax. Higher taxes for anyone earning more than £80,000. A Robin Hood tax for the City, a hefty rise in the minimum wage, and the abolition of tuition fees. The Labour manifesto is big on old-style tax and spending policies.

Hardly a day goes by without Jeremy Corbyn or his shadow chancellor John McDonnell promising a tax rise on something or other, along with a “fully-costed” splurge on some wheeze that might attract a few more votes.

They have not quite gotten around to creating a higher tax band for anyone with an MBA or a one-off levy on Ocado deliveries. But, heck, tomorrow is only Tuesday, and there will still be over 24 hours to go before voting begins. Anything could happen.

A General Election that looked safely in the bag for the Conservatives when the prime minister Theresa May announced it six weeks ago now looks dangerously in the balance.

The polls are all over the place, and they have called so many votes wrong in the last three years that no one trusts them anymore. There is a chance – a slim chance but a chance all the same – that Labour might actually get elected.

Its policies would be bad for the economy at the best of times. But one important point has been widely missed. They would be especially catastrophic at the same time as we are negotiating our exit from the EU.

You can argue about how much impact Brexit will have, and whether it will be for the better or worse. What you can’t really dispute is that the UK will go through a period of adjustment as it lessens its dependence on Europe – and that will require a mix of lower taxes and lighter regulation to remain attractive to global business.

In truth, 2017 will be just about the worst year possible for Britain to try an experiment in the economics of the radical Left.

David Fuller's view

Theresa May has her strengths but campaigning has not been among them.  This is the worst Tory general election campaign that I have ever seen.  The blame for this lies directly at the feet of the Prime Minister. 

Arrogantly, she has insisted on dominating the entire campaign.  Her persistent tactic has been to criticise her main opponent. Bullying is always an unattractive characteristic and it has led to sympathy for Jeremy Corbyn, particularly among the youngest voters.  Tactically, Corbyn has played his exceptionally weak hand very skilfully.

Fortunately, bookmakers still show a comfortable lead for the Conservative Party, although they are certainly not infallible.  A change in government at this time would be a disaster for the UK economy, undermining its chances of being a leading free-trade economy attracting international support.   

Here is a PDF of Matthew Lynn’s column.