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George Osborne stands above his rivals

The chancellor's speech set out a coherent and often radical plan for changing Britain

by Bronwen Maddox / October 15, 2015 / Leave a comment
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Published in November 2015 issue of Prospect Magazine
Chancellor George Osborne addresses the Conservative Party conference in Manchester ©Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/Press Association Images

Chancellor George Osborne addresses the Conservative Party conference in Manchester ©Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/Press Association Images

The chance to build a bridge and point to it after you’ve left office—that is the kind of thing that US senators sometimes say gives them the best job in American politics (with more practical power than the President). The clunky refrain “we are the builders” with which George Osborne hammered home his speech to the Conservative Party conference is not a high point of modern political rhetoric, but it has its uses: he’s offering a very tangible legacy, built before your eyes.

The central planks of the Chancellor’s speech set out ambitious goals for a modern country—and for modernising it further. More devolution of power to cities and councils, enabling them to compete for businesss; more apprenticeships; and a commitment both to defence and aid. The tone was international, confident, often radical, not invoking Broken Britain but acknowledging a list of problems which he proposed practically to fix.

The question will now be whether the Chancellor can deliver on the construction contract he has written, as well as on the wider goal he shares with David Cameron of seizing the centre ground of British politics, or whether he will be tripped up both by the severity of the cuts he proposes and by economic factors beyond his control.

The building pledges themselves are not without hazard. Houses are almost the easiest, given the consensus behind the need (see our cover story, by Andrew Adonis, the Labour peer last month). Sceptical mutterings that mon…

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Comments

  1. Graham Davis
    October 15, 2015 at 10:42
    Although his legacy is important to Osborne most voters will not even remember his name five years hence. It is the conceit of politicians to think that they matter, they did once but those days are long past, short of going to war most decisions they make have a marginal effect overall. Of course some individuals will be affected by changes to welfare or taxation but those individuals will be at the top and bottom end of the social spectrum, for the majority change will barely be felt and even a decision like staying in or leaving the EU will have far less affect on people’s lives than supporters of either will have us believe. In order to persuade us of their importance politicians rely on the confrontational nature or our political discourse to shape public opinion. They want us to be like the supporters of rival football teams, blind to the qualities of the other side. It doesn’t have to be like this; what we need is a complete rethink of our political and economic system so that it responds to the needs of all. This may entail the demise of the political class altogether to be replaced by apolitical representatives that consider the issues and make policy based on rational consensus rather than through the lens of political ideology. This is a them I explore in my book The Future: for better or worse? https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1048911665

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Bronwen Maddox
Bronwen Maddox is former Editor of Prospect
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