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| It's been an omnitriumph for George Osborne - if not for the Conservative party - this week. Practice makes perfect. The chancellor has had four previous gos at putting together a flawless Budget package. He's had a tough task, what with slashing spending hither and thither, and hasn't always covered himself in glory in the process. But two years have passed since the shuddering horrors of 2012, when virtually everything that could have gone wrong with his Budget statement duly did so. This year, in an utterly unprecedented development, we haven't heard the word 'unravelling' even once. Osborne has done extraordinarily well. The opposition couldn't find a thing to kick up a stink about. Were they going to make a fuss about the pensions reforms? Not so much. Maybe they might have had a go at the plans to make it easier to save money? Hardly. The new pound coin isn't exactly something to get worked up about, either. Ed Balls admitted to journalists it was all a bit "underwhelming", and ended up telling a story about Eric Pickles falling asleep instead. Osborne has even mastered the art of doing something with nothing. As we realised soon after the Budget statement was delivered, the spending bits of his tax-neutral package were being financed by the chancellor stealing from (a) baddies or (b) the future. Neither are going to cause much trouble. And so the result is a Budget week in which the Tories have advanced their political agenda just a little bit more, while losing next to no ground. It was all going so well. Until Grant Shapps' truly calamitous tweet ruined everything. His campaign poster, which effectively suggested the Conservatives thought "hard-working people" liked nothing more than a pint of beer while enjoying a relaxing game of bingo, came across as agonisingly patronising. The cringeworthy-ometer was swinging alarmingly close to George-Galloway-pretending-to-be-a-cat levels. And the left, not having anything better to do, went to town on it. Social media disasters are nothing new in British politics, but this gets a special mention because it was so disruptive. One moment the chancellor was enjoying headlines that his predecessors in No 11 could only dream of; the next his party was being ridiculed mercilessly. If the rumours are true and Shapps' job as Tory chairman does come under pressure in the coming months, we shouldn't expect he will be getting staunch support from Osborne. The Budget was also thoroughly successful in ending a very embarrassing news story for the Tories: a refuelling of the idea that the Conservatives are out-of-touch, posh old Etonians. Michael Gove's criticism that the number of Etonians in the Cabinet is "embarrassing" and "ridiculous" reportedly left Cameron fuming. So goodness knows how he felt when Foreign Office minister Sayeeda Warsi - Shapps' predecessor as chairman, no less - went on television brandishing a mocked-up newspaper headline about 'Eton mess'. Minutes before the Budget I spoke to a Tory backbencher telling me about the problem her party had with the "old boys network" image problem. But then came Osborne's statement, and the story was promptly forgotten about. This week was always going to be about the Budget, but there were other stories out there. Tony Benn's sad death dominated coverage at the weekend, and rightly so, but there was a more unsavoury element to the story by the end of the week. A thoroughly nice idea to honour his body before its funeral found itself under criticism from a Tory MP. Not nice, not nice. We also saw a quiet declaration of Cold War in the Commons chamber by William Hague. The foreign secretary has spent the last few weeks warning darkly, if somewhat vaguely, of "consequences" for Russia's de facto annexation of Crimea. Tuesday saw him flesh out exactly what that threat meant. The west's relations with Russia are in flux. Not that many MPs seemed to notice. MondayCensored: Home Office refuses to publish cost of Theresa May's legal battles Home Office refuses to publish details of Theresa May's legal battles, despite evidence they've cost the taxpayer millions Comment: It's time to regulate porn Regulating what people can watch will always be controversial - but pornography depicting abuse for sexual gratification has been linked to a string of heinous crimes Comment: Tony Benn was the leader Labour was lucky to lose Denis Healey's chief of staff during his deputy leadership fight with Tony Benn offers his own take on a complex and flawed political figure TuesdayA declaration of Cold War: Washington and London turn their backs on Russia This is how cold wars start. In a fusty, ponderous, poorly-attended Commons debate this afternoon, Britain's MPs began the process of slowly turning their back on Russia for good. This is how Britain does annexations When Britain likes it it puts a flagpole on it Inequality: Budget obsessives risk missing the bigger picture The huge gulf between the richest and poorest in 21st century Britain is virtually obscene WednesdayBudget 2014: HMRC can now take money directly from your bank account Buried deep in the Budget document, there's a major state power grab Budget 2014: Osborne's three clever tricks revealed Chancellor funds this year's giveaways by whacking the 'baddies' of 21st century Britain Why covering the Budget live is a one-sided nightmare You have to ask: Is there no better way than this? ThursdayMPs grumble as Tony Benn honoured Tony Benn's body will 'rest' in a Commons chapel overnight Comment: Osborne's pension reforms will result in more state support Those most in need of hand-holding have been given the keys to the sweet shop How to ruin a Budget: Left turns on 'patronising' Tories in beer and bingo backlash When Shapps handed the left an opportunity to bash the Tories out of nowhere, opposition spinners must have been fervent with gratitude FridaySuper-rich criminals happy to stay in jail - if it means keeping their stolen cash Criminals are effectively being allowed to keep stolen money in exchange for more time behind bars, MPs have revealed. The return of Boris? PM wants his 'best striker' back in parliament David Cameron unexpectedly gives his blessing for Boris Johnson's Commons return Government allowed 'anti-immigrant prejudice' over Romanian immigrants Failure to provide estimates of how many Romanians and Bulgarians would come to Britain last year stoked "anti-immigrant prejudice", according to an influential committee of MPs | Animal research laboratories open their doors for Science WeekEver wondered what really goes on in animal research labs? Are they the secretive, sinister places portrayed by animal rights activists? RSPCA delighted at Westminster vote to stop badger cullMPs agree roll out of pilot badger cull should be stopped. NASUWT Deputy General Secretary visits Ukraine to show solidarity for teacher unionsThe trip has been organised by Education International (EI), the world federation of education unions with 30 million members from more than 170 countries around the world. Businesses must tackle cyber-crime by embracing new Government plans to boost cyber skills, says the IETThe Government has today announced plans to meet the increasing demand for cyber security skills. People with learning disabilities better informed as a result of accessible news, survey showsA survey shows that the number of people now engaged in current affairs has doubled. Leading mental health organisations warn new NHS funding cut will put lives at riskThe the organisations said the cut ‘completely contravenes the Government’s promise to put mental and physical health care on an equal footing’. |
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