The Tories need an enforcer who can protect the shadow cabinet from themselves

Mac

Good point, I'm out of work thanks to Gordon's inept handling of the British economy. Can I have the job please?

James Burdett

I agree in part that the Conservatives need to be a little more alive to such things. However, I think the problem is actually the fact that almost everything is used to say "Aha, they are up to something". Sometimes it will be true, more often it is not. The end result of this sort of media maelstrom is that we will have politicians who are perpetually looking over their shoulders to see that they might not inadvertantly said a "Good Morning" to someone they shouldn't.

This sort of story, doubtless prodded by the Downing St spin operation is inimical to trust in politics and politician. Ultimately this will do more damage to the political class and the political system than it will to the Conservatives and Osborne in particular.

Greg

Is Malcolm Tucker in work at the moment?

Tiberius

Being naive, I thought we were moving back towards politics being decided on issues rather than who breaks the most eggshells.

Although the BBC prefer the fun of the latter, primarily because their team are good at causing the other lot to crunch a bit more, I do think the public has had enough of it.

Hope you're right that Osborne's going to make it, James. After all, he's hardly sold of the country's gold reserves at a huge loss.

CROWN

I'll have the job

1 - don't mix with Mandelson
2 - don't try and tuck up Mandelson
3 - mix with the sort of people that middle England mix with.

luke

All those trying to suggest that Osborne's problems are some how equivalent to Mandelson's are deluding themselves.

A senior Tory fundraiser and close friend of George Osborne is publicly claiming Osborne acted illegally and broke the ministerial code. He is also calling Osborne a liar.

This is serious stuff. Suggesting it is some kind of nulab spin is badly deluded.

mac

Er, a different Mac! To coffee housers regulars - 't'ain't me!

geoff

Isnt this andy coulson's actual job?

Jeremy

George Osborne set this particular ball rolling by leaking gossip to the press about Mandelson "dripping with poison" about Gordon Brown. No doubt he thought he was being clever. But unfortunately, his schoolboy attempts to appear bitchier and cleverer than the Prince of Darkness have rebounded back upon himself in spectacular fashion, making him look like a prat. At an individual level, this would not matter very much. But unfortunately, given the position he holds, it is having a detrimental effect upon the public's perception of the Conservative Party at a crucial time, thus making it a far more serious matter. I think that Osborne's lack of judgement in this matter has undermined his political credibility and, were I Tory leader, I would seriously question his fitness to remain on the Shadow front bench. Perhaps somebody with a bit more substance and soundness of judgement is called for.

Austin Barry

Oh, God, another opportunity for the Great Unwashed to see aversion-therapy photos of Bullingdon Club chums in their toff-wear. Chaps get a grip: the electorate does not want to engage with an incestuous rump of posh, public school twits flapping hands at each other. If you want a public school/old Etonian exemplar try George Orwell or even Humphrey Lyttelton (Craig Brown would be a stretch), but not this coterie of anemic twerps. Come back William Hague and David Davis, all is forgiven.

Charlie

Cameron et al have long lost any connection with Middle England.Hedge Funds and private equity have created massive debt. For any Tory to be seen in their company any oligarchs is political suicide. What we are seeing is political class who has never had to make live or death judgement before any political office- not taking men over the top or commanding a ship in the middle of a hurricane. Consequently, these politicians do not have finely tuned antennae. Any more mistakes and Osborne and hague will have to go.

Andrew

Mandelson/Campbell are being too clever by half.

Sliding Osborne to Party Chairman looks like a scalp for spin, but will actually bring some serious horsepower into the position of Shadow Chancellor.

Cameron should give them what they think they wish for.

TrevorsDen

Mandy and co got their timing wrong. Today would have been a good day to bury bad news.

lets not forget why all this leaking has been done and how good of the BBC to dutifully follow orders.

its the real economy stupid.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3239283/Pound-plunges-after-Mervyn-King-warns-of-recession.html

Pound falls - biggest fall since 'golden wednesday'

I saw it last night at 1.68 and was shocked - its 1.62 now.

Faceless Bureaucrat

Amen to that, Brother James...

But 'Geoff' above has a point - is Andy Coulson asleep at the wheel at the moment?

Ricardo

It's been an abiding flaw of the whole Tory operation to think that hiring some new genius is the solution to all their problems. That's why they've been through about 27 different strategies since 1997; they've had at least three since 2005 and are probably cooking up another one now.

This hire-an-expensive-genius approach hasn't worked because, having hired him, the clowns then carry on doing whatever they feel like any way and ignore him.

Consider: what's the real damaging thing about this Osborne story? The fact that someone who has a history of, ahem, not quite reporting correctly the funding of his private office, and who was taking a freebie holiday with a plutocrat where he met a dodgy foreigner, comes home and decides to sanction a series of spin attacks on a rival politician who was enjoying the same hospitality and met the same dodgy foreigner. They've got this massive blind spot. In the same way the Cameroons couldn't see that they really couldn't attack Labour over their funding at a time when their own chairman was being accused of paying for her nanny improperly.

Do they really believe that the rules don't apply to them, or are they all just a bit thick?