The Institute for Fiscal Studies, Britain's leading tax thinktank, is respected for its independence and so George Osborne will be pleased with its verdict on the economic reconstruction plan he published at the weekend.
Robert Chote, the IFS director, has written an analysis of it here. He says that Britain's fiscal framework "is certainly in need of repair", points out that Gordon Brown's rules allowed the Treasury to change its mind about when the economic cycle started, and criticises Brown for allowing public sector net debt to rise to 39.8% of national income, perilously close to his 40% target.
Would Mr Osborne's reforms have ensured a happier ending? Well, if politics did intrude on the chancellor's predictions and his decisions regarding the cycle, then placing responsibility for fiscal forecasting in the hands of an independent Office of Budget Responsibility - with access to the same privileged information on spending and revenues that the Treasury currently enjoys - might have prompted earlier action to strengthen the public finances.
Chote asks various questions about the Tory package, but his overall conclusion is positive: "The broad approach is a good one."
