George Osborne
George Osborne has bet the house (and other people's houses) on there being no new crash
When George Osborne visited Sweden, Finland and Denmark the stock markets of each country promptly fell by about 5 per…
Think Cameron’s small majority will hold him back? Not with his new army of loyalists
Time was when the Conservatives believed that a small majority — which puts a government at the mercy of backbench…
Tips for Boris from imperial Rome
While the Labour party rakes over its past in an effort to find a policy for its future, the commentators…
This time we really are getting tough on dodgy bankers (just don’t expect it to reach the boardroom)
Fourteen years is a long stretch. The punishment imposed on former UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes for his role…
Inside George Osborne’s empire: how the Chancellor rules Westminster
The Chancellor has Westminster in his grip
Why housing associations are the true villains of the property crisis
The trouble with housing associations
The Tories can only benefit from the rise and rise of Jeremy Corbyn
It wasn’t meant to work out this way. A month ago, Westminster watched to see if Jeremy Corbyn could get…
Osborne's living-wage wheeze will decide the fate of one-nation Conservatism
In his hastily scripted victory speech, David Cameron hit upon a mission that he wanted to define his remaining years…
Portrait of the week
Home In his Budget, George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, slowed the planned rate of bringing in £12 billion…
George Osborne's real plan: erase every trace of Gordon Brown
To understand George Osborne, it is important to realise that he cut his political teeth at the height of the…
Listen: the gaffe from Nicola Sturgeon that everyone missed
It’s not surprising that politicians have such an on-off relationship with the broadcast media. One slip. One casual comment. One…
Osborne’s false prophet: why Jim O’Neill will never deliver a ‘northern powerhouse’
Why Jim O’Neill isn’t fit to run the Northern Powerhouse
The dinner where laissez-faire banking died
Last week’s deadline did not allow me to report from ringside at the Mansion House dinner, but there was so…
Labour’s campaign was fine. It’s the party that Britain rejected
Patrick Wintour is one of the best political editors around. For the Guardian he’s been for decades a cool and…
The northern powerhouses of ancient Turkey
Government claims that it will ‘free’ northern cities to turn themselves into ‘powerhouses’. Since most of them are held by…
Portrait of the week
Home David Cameron, the Prime Minister, soon got used to the surprise of the Conservatives being returned in the general…
Can Cameron bring us full employment? And do we want it?
‘Two million jobs have been created since 2010 — but there will not be a moment of rest until we…
Do you think the age of boom and bust is over? All our party leaders are betting that it is
After working for Bill Clinton, the political strategist James Carville said he had changed his mind about where power really…
Nigel Lawson’s diary: Escaping election tedium in la France profonde
I have escaped this rather depressing election campaign by retreating to my home in la France profonde — to be…
Why David Cameron is best placed to win the crucial Ikea vote
If Ikea were a constituency, it would be a three-way marginal. That was my thought one morning last week as…
Andrew Marr’s diary: Why this is such a tooth-grindingly awful election
So far, what an infuriating election campaign. We have the most extraordinary array of digital, paper and broadcasting media at…
Lefty myths about inequality
As a Tory, I’ve been thinking a lot about inequality recently. Has it really increased in the past five years?…
Lord Freud: the man who saved the welfare system
Cameron was right about one thing: not sacking Lord Freud
A typical coalition Budget – designed to put the Tories back in power
George Osborne usually tells his aides to prepare for each Budget as if it were his last. This time round,…
Here’s what a real reform of business rates would look like
Of all the measures talked up ahead of the Budget, the reannouncement of a ‘radical’ review of the business rates…
