Tory leader says close friendship with shadow chancellor would not prevent him from removing him from post David Cameron today said he would sack George Osborne if he believed he was not up to the job of shadow chancellor. In an interview with the Evening Standard , the Conservative leader said moving people in and out of the shadow cabinet was "very difficult, but it absolutely has to be done"....
A French minister this week described the Tory policy on Europe as manifesting a “very bizarre sense of autism”. The Times has seen fit to devote a leader column to the subject: To use the term “autism” and “autistic” in a derogatory or flippant manner can cause deep hurt to those affected by the condition. To use the term as a criticism, for dramatic effect or to...
Johann Hari had a terrible piece in the Independent yesterday. It was so bad I'm going to paste a large chunk of it and object to/correct it in red. Here we go: Of course, the most consequential policies so far cover the economy, where Cameron is promoting a fringe philosophy rejected by every other elected government. Most economists believe that when private spending collapses, the Government has...
Pudgy lefty columnist Johann Hari in the ‘Indy’ considers the Tory Party to be ‘out of touch’ with voters: The most common complaint against David Cameron is unfair and untrue. Critics keep charging that he has no policies – but in truth, now he has dropped his early attempt at kum-bay-ya Conservatism , Cameron is offering a fairly detailed prospectus. Unfortunately, it...
It simply has not happened. Ken Clarke, repeatedly promoted by Margaret Thatcher of the Single European Act, is in the Shadow Cabinet, having first been a Minister before George Osborne was born. Michael Heseltine is the power behind David Cameron. But Dan Hannan, usually held up as the Great White Hope, is not a member of either House of Parliament, and really cannot expect (or wish) to receive the...
One of the key things that we Liberal Democrats have been hanging on to is that Vince Cable is the most competent, and knowledgeable, of the Shadow Chancellors. I had always assumed that the ties of The Bullingdon Club had prevented David Cameron considering getting rid of his friend George Osborne. But, according to today’s Evening Standard [...]
In a revealing interview the Tory leader talks about his faith, his greatest fears and why he wouldn't hesitate to sack George Osborne if he didn't perform.
Another interesting thing to emerge from the David Cameron interview I pointed out earlier is his religion: "I've a sort of fairly classic Church of England faith, a faith that grows hotter and colder by moments but...I suppose I sort of started life believing that one's individual faith was important, but actually the institutions of the church were less important. "I do think that organised...
David Cameron has said he is motivated by the fear of failure rather than the “wonder" of success and insisted he would sack George Osborne if he had to.
By Conor McGinn / @conormcginn Today's Evening Standard carries a very comprehensive interview with David Cameron . In the interview Cameron says this about his faith : "I'm very happy in the Church of England where there's plenty of room for flexibility. I have a faith but don't push me too hard on things like the virgin birth or transubstantiation and so on, I might not come up trumps."...
An interesting interview with Cameron in the Evening Standard today. You can read the whole thing here but if you are, like me, getting fed up of reading interviewers describing him as "surprisingly candid", "at ease with himself" or "refreshingly normal and open" then here are a few points of intrigue: "I've always thought that the fear of getting things wrong inspires...
There's a very good interview with David Cameron in the Evening Standard today. One point to pick up on is this: if it was right to sack George Osborne or another very close colleague would he do it? "Absolutely. I've done so before with other colleagues and I will do so again. "One of the most difficult parts of the job is colleague-management. And moving people in and out of the shadow...
It is a myth that David Cameron and George Osborne have no ideas – from elected police chiefs to parents setting up “free schools”, they have armed their party with policies that match their vision of a smaller state
George Osborne, sometime lead singer of Depeche Mode, sets out his stall for a UK economic recovery: Words are very very unnecessary. Because actions speak louder than words, Osborne's first action upon hearing news of a Conservative triumph a few months from now should be immediately to start a nationwide audit so we can all find out just how big a hole Brown and Labour has left Britain in, and start...
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