Above all, now is the time to illuminate first political principles – the civic and moral virtues of taxation itself, which is not a burden but the price of civilisation. Since there’s no avoiding it, make a political virtue of necessity. Remind people what their taxes buy, retell what cuts and austerity did to the public realm and tell voters truths they don’t know: Britain is a lower-taxed nation than its neighbours, and it shows. Ask not what tax cuts will do for your pocket, but what taxes will do for everything that matters most in life.