What Osborne got right

After being mean about Osborne’s sub-prime corporate debt policy, I should say that he got a lot right in his speech earlier today. His delivery was the best I’ve seen: he looked relaxed, and sounded conversational. This suits him: he’s not a hell-and-brimstone kind of politician. He dealt with the dire subject matter in a confident way and was not in the least defensive. And he showed a glimpse of the sunlit uplands, so conspicuously absent from Vince Cable’s doom-laden speech a fortnight ago. That said, it seemed apparent from the rest of his speech that he is bracing himself – and us – for a downward surge on the economic rollercoaster.
 
“Leadership for a better future,” said the words on the podium. Osborne came to offer not so much blood, sweat toil and tears, but “resolve, determination, confidence, and belief.”  A premium is placed on leadership when hell breaks loose. The company debt plan is a safety valve that would be required if the Eurozone’s troubles spark another bank liquidity crisis. He is launching a new lifeboat today and “together we will ride out the storm” was the motto of his speech.  The supply-side package he announced was pretty thin stuff: a council tax freeze will be welcome. It says both “I feel your pain”, and that “the government didn’t spend all the money we budgeted next year – and do you know what? We’re going to give it back to you.” It is a welcome gesture, albeit one which will not offset the inflation confronting families. I suspect the costs of the inflation from a new round of QE will consume the £72 average saving from frozen council tax.
 
Osborne will, of course, be saving any serious ammunition for the autumn statement. He’ll need it, because the accompanying forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility will be awful. Slowly, we’re moving away from the unanswered question of “where’s your growth strategy?” to a new message: “Fear not, I will guide you through this period of global economic uncertainty.” Osborne is a brilliant political strategist, and has chosen ‘leadership’ as the theme for the next few years. Given what we saw from the Labour and Lib Dem conferences, that’s pretty solid ground for the Tories.