Bullingdon Flees Breeze Wheeze

Daveybloke's Cuddly Chancellor is attempting to regain some of the credibility he lost over the various Budget disasters; unfortunately, those whose credulity he is courting happen to be Conservative backbenchers. Accordingly, George the Progressively Regressive is demanding that the anticipated proceeds from the now cancelled pasty tax be taken out of the hide of the renewable energy industry, which wants to put nasty, noisy windfarms in everybody's back garden rather than quietly fracking for shale gas and improving the national water supply with an occasional belch of methane. The Deputy Conservatives, who once claimed some sort of interest in keeping the world habitable, have indicated that they would prefer a smaller cut in the subsidy; say a moderately crippling ten per cent as opposed to the Chancellor's openly murderous twenty-five. A responsible and rigorously argued cave-in is doubtless in preparation.

Daveybloke himself, of course, used to burble a good deal about the greenest government ever; but that was in the days when he also used to burble about protecting front-line services and having a soft spot for the NHS. Last month Daveybloke attended a presentation thingy by someone who said that, where cuts are concerned, "if you go too slow, you create subsidy junkies". A few other things were said too, but that was clearly the only part which registered.