There's some good news from this morning's Cabinet Meeting already - the new Government have all agreed that Ministers will take a 5% pay cut.
This is welcome for three important reasons.
First, it will save some money. Sure, it won't be enough on its own to tackle the £160 billion or so of deficit this year, but it's a start that taxpayers will welcome. Every penny counts.
Second, it is a step on the road to restoring public faith in Parliament. Although the new expenses scheme is fairly good, restoring Parliament's reputation requires the political class to make some sacrifices. There will be those in Westminster who deride this as tokenism but it doesn't do any harm to make a gesture sometimes.
Third, and most important, this is a crucial bit of groundwork for the essential spending cuts that must be made. Many quangos must be abolished, wide pay freezes must be implemented and many - particularly senior - salaries ought to be cut. There will undoubtedly be some strikes if the right decisions are taken, but can you imagine how much worse the resistance to cuts would be if Ministers refused to share any of the pain themselves?
This sends a clear message: spending must fall and we Ministers are leading by example.
More of the same, please!
