The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) were straight out of the trap after Labour’s manifesto launch, providing what it touts as objective analysis of the figures, and will be following up with more detailed analysis soon.

In widely-reported comments, IFS director Paul Johnson claimed that Labour would impose “punitive” taxes on big business, and that Labour’s claims for the revenue raised from tax were “simply not credible.” Coming from an organization with a reputation for studied neutrality, the IFS’s assessment, and particularly Johnson’s quotable remarks, have been treated as something akin to the voice of God by much of the media.

But the IFS’s claims do not stack up to scrutiny. Worse, the organisation is trading off its reputation as an authority on some economic issues to make claims over other areas for which it has no expertise or authority. And for its director to use the language he did is to shift the institution into a nakedly and obviously partisan role.