I don’t agree with writing off so much money for fraud, and in fact I think every penny raised in tax should be accounted for properly.
But you could also argue that QE may not have been required in the first place had the last Labour government regulated the finance sector properly, and not been too cosy with the likes of Fred Goodwin, who was at Chequers every other weekend having smoke blown up his arse by Gordon Brown.
The die is cast now though, and like I said unless something dramatic happens with rates, the next government will be heavily constrained on spending, particularly if Labour maintains the role of the OBR. All imponderables at this stage but personally I think Starmer will do very well to hold it all together given the constants he’ll have to work within.