Commentators claim George Osborne is confused, vacuous and out of his depth, as austerity economics drives Britain into an unprecedented depression.
Not true. George is a state-hater. We’ve all met them. Rich Tory boys who don’t need the state.
- If they have a medical problem they pay to see a doctor or enter a private hospital
- If they fall on hard times between jobs they occupy a wing of the family mansion
- If they’re worried about crime they employ a security guard
- If they’re bored they don’t hang out on a street corner with a pit bull but take the spaniels out for a spot of pheasant shooting
It is normal, predicable and obvious that George Osborne should be a state-hater. He doesn’t need the state. His friends don’t need it. His class doesn’t need it. They object, strongly, to paying for it. They want it shrunk.
Sure, they’ll mouth some highfalutin ideology about people needing to stand on their own two feet. But standing on your own two feet in a South London housing estate feels a bit different from standing on a grouse moor. But they don’t care about that.
What better opportunity than now? Britain 2013 is a state-hater’s dream.
So no more talk of Osborne being a fool. He might look like a fool and sound like a fool. But he’s not. His job is to shrink the state. He’s doing well.