The Chancellor's debate is an opportunity for Osborne
James Forsyth 8:30pm
Tomorrow’s Chancellor’s debate is going to be one of the key set pieces of the campaign. Labour are convinced that George Osborne is the weak link in the Tory campaign and their attempt to target him will be turned up another notch if he turns in a disappointing performance. Vince Cable will see this as a chance to show that he’s the best potential Chancellor, although I hear that Cable’s keenness to get his hands on a Red Box is causing tensions within the Lib Dems.
Osbrone might be the man with the most to lose but he is also the man with the most to gain. Osborne’s stock is undervalued at the moment, people are ignoring that he has won the argument on debt and that he was the man who forced Brown to call off the election that never was. By contrast, Cable’s is overvalued—as that Andrew Neil interview showed, he is nowhere near as good as his press suggests he is. Darling has had an easy ride over the past few years because the political class sees that he is the man trying to restrain Balls and Brown’s worst instincts. Darling’s knowledge of economics and policy agenda have not been subject to forensic scrutiny.
As one Tory MP who supported David Davis in 2005 pointed out to me the other day, Osborne has never failed on a set piece occasion. If he can win tomorrow’s debate, he’ll be in a position to stymie Labour efforts to target him.
Previous
Dave P
March 28th, 2010 8:44pm Report this commentJames, for some reason this reminds me of the post you wrote on 17th March headlined 'The Chancellor's debate is an opportunity for Osborne'
Running out of things to say?
Richard
March 28th, 2010 8:54pm Report this comment@James
Do you really get paid for producing articles like this?
Bill Kristol-Balls
March 28th, 2010 9:06pm Report this commentI hope he gets a chance to explain how in 2008 he "promised that a Conservative Government would match Labour spending growth of 2.3% for the next three years"
Tim W
March 28th, 2010 9:12pm Report this commentQuite frankly both Darling and Osborne are massively underqualified in terms of Economics. But that is not necessarily a bad thing as economists (such as Cable - who is at least qualified) cannot make their minds up or agree on anything. Vince is an economist - that doesn't make him right. You could find hundreds of economists who disagree with him.
Osborne has one (unlikely) key differential between him and the rest. He is the only guy there who will increase rather than cut NHS spending. I wonder how he'll answer the question: "If Labour can cut the NHS why don't you?"
Cameron and Co. have been saying there will be more to come on Tory policy. As it hasn't happened yet but will obviously become clearer in the coming weeks, Osborne may look indecisive having to answer "We'll tell you soon," to every question - e.g. Marriage tax breaks, spending cuts, taxes etc.
TrevorsDen
March 28th, 2010 9:57pm Report this commentBill - the credit crunch hit us in 2008. And up until then people like you - the electorate - wanted to see spending on public services.
They still do, but even the electorate now have to ask where does the money come from.
Is a 'debate' a 'set piece' ??
stephen
March 28th, 2010 10:16pm Report this commentGood luck Boy. Keep it simple and not too high falootin!
Boudicca
March 28th, 2010 10:27pm Report this commentHe needs to keep it simple and talk to the viewers in language they understand. He must not talk about debt one minute and deficit the next ... many people don't understand the difference. As far as appearance goes, he's younger than the other two and he can't help that. But he can help the fact that when he's not talking or smiling, his face automatically settles into a sulky demeanour. He needs to get rid of that look - it isn't a good one.
2trueblue
March 28th, 2010 11:45pm Report this commentHe already commands respect in a lot of quarters and can build on this. He did not get us into this mess nor has he claimed to have foreseen the global crises.
Major Plonquer
March 29th, 2010 12:32am Report this commentOsborne needs to change his and the Tories policy entirely. Instead of asking 'Where is all the money coming from?' they should be asking 'Where has all our money gone?'
Inside Man
March 29th, 2010 5:46am Report this commentI think that Osborne is in a very good position as long as he keeps his narrative understandable, attacks Darling with pretty straight forward and hard hitting questions and completely ignores Vince Cable.
The expectations on him are quite low so in fact any half decent performance is a step up.
Perosnally I think he will actually do very well, as has been pointed out he is a good performer who is highly under-rated.
Back to top