As the Conservative Party leadership contest gathers pace, I want to make sure that in the fire and thunder of the Brexit debate, we do not lose sight of one of the greatest achievements of Conservative-led government over the last nine years.

And I want to make doubly sure that the Conservative party does not throw away one of its greatest assets – its reputation for fiscal responsibility - in a bidding-war of unfunded spending and tax cutting pledges by the candidates.

A combination of clear economic strategy by the Government and nearly a decade of sheer hard work by the British people means our economy is in robust shape, forecast to grow faster than Germany, Italy and Japan this year, despite the current uncertainties.

And our public finances have turned the corner, with the annual deficit down from a staggering 9.9% of our GDP in 2009, to just 1.1% last year - lower than it was before the crisis.

But the years of high annual deficits have added dramatically to Britain’s National Debt – up from 41.7% of our GDP in 2007 to 87.9% of GDP in 2016.

The good news is that, with the annual deficit added to the debt each year now at historic lows, and our GDP growing, our debt as a percentage of GDP is now, at last, falling sustainably.