Osborne is becoming the true Tory leader

Wednesday, 23rd June 2010

While Cameron rests on his laurels, the Chancellor has been hard at work developing new ideas and strategies. James Forsyth says that his new vision for Britain can be seen in the Budget

There’s one subject that you don’t raise with David Cameron’s circle if you want the conversation to last: the election result. They don’t like to be reminded that they failed to win a majority. The Cameroons have been persuading themselves that coalition government is the best possible result. No. 10 has been dubbed ‘the love nest’ by the rest of Whitehall. The Tories inside gush about their new Liberal Democrat colleagues.

But just next door, there is a man who is still obsessing about how to win a Tory majority. George Osborne has digested the election result, does not regard it as a success, and is seeking to learn from it how best to create a Tory parliamentary majority in this country again. He has been observing recently that Gordon Brown spent 13 years successfully creating Labour voters — mainly through state dependency — and that the Tories need to reverse this process if they are to win. It would also mean fostering a new set of Tory voters in the way that Margaret Thatcher did with council house sales and the ‘Tell Sid’ expansion of share ownership.

This is the strategy that underpins Osborne’s first Budget. The headlines were, predictably, about cuts. But this Budget can be seen as Osborne taking charge — in every respect. It is the first dramatic step in his plan for Britain. Osborne’s agenda is distinct from (but by no means hostile to) David Cameron’s. The aim is a majority Conservative government. If the plan succeeds, there’ll be no need to have the Lib Dems in government in five years’ time.

Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne have been so inextricably linked since their emergence on to the political scene that it is easy to think of them as one and the same. Osborne ran both Cameron’s leadership campaign and his general election campaign, and is godfather to his son Elwen. For years they have worked from adjoining offices and shared a staff — an arrangement they had hoped to keep going by knocking down the walls in No. 10 and No. 11 and running one big Downing Street office. But coalition put paid to that. Each needed to work with their Lib Dem deputies. Mr Osborne is now in the Treasury, slowly developing his own centre of political gravity.

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NickW

June 24th, 2010 1:21pm Report this comment

Having been born near Manchester I have always felt that the South of the country was too predominant in influence, industry and spending and that the centre of Government should be moved to the midlands to ensure balance; (I was very young at the time).

However; London weighting allowances have always made things worse for the quality of life, overcrowding and congestion in the South and they should be scrapped to allow market forces to do their job.
Modern communications obviate the need for business to be concentrated in the South east.

Nick Grady

June 29th, 2010 11:40pm Report this comment

Suppositions based on circumstances. Of course Mr Osborne is intent on manufacturing an economic climate to attract a tory vote for a future majority. But to suppose his budget was designed that way for that end is wishful thinking. George Osborne has a job to do. His boss, in case any journalist has forgotten, is David Cameron. David Cameron cut his teeth in government opposition whilst working at the treasury so is well aware of how important treasury stewardship is for future government success.
The real acid test for a future conserative majority government - subject to the free vote on proportional representation charged to Nick Clegg to propose - will be convincing the electorate that;
One - the cuts are good for us
Two - they will bring economic prosperity for all
Three - this government finally nails shut the door on the socialist myth that ordinary people need state support.
The cuts themselves are not going to really bite until about this time next year, giving plenty of time for full budget fine tuning. This emergency budget was designed for one reason and one reason only - to reassure the markets that Britian at last has proper government with a sustainable framework for economic success in place.
Come on Spectator - you can write good articles. Leave the fantasies for other magazines!

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