George Osborne interview: fire in his belly?

By Benedict Brogan 1005PM GMT sixteen March 2010

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George Osborne Photo CHRISTOPHER PLEDGER

Conservative Campaign Headquarters is packed. Workers are tangled in side by side on the sunlit third building of the Millbank building complex, where Labour famously masterminded the last discuss to furnish domestic shift in Britain. In the center of the room, on top of the "pod", around that accumulate the comparison discuss officials, a digital time counts down the days, hours, mins and seconds to the last probable impulse for a ubiquitous election.

George Osborne competence be the discuss supremo, but he does not rate an office. He has to have do with a list at the finish of a packaged row of press officers. So we secrete the potion box indifferent for David Cameron to have use of when the fill up goes up and all MPs have to empty the Palace of Westminster to quarrel the election.

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There is a tangible sparkle in the ambience after weeks of stress caused by what comparison total confess was a duration loss of common nerve. The polls narrowed and a fortnight ago it looked as if Gordon Brown competence be about to theatre the majority improbable of comebacks. But something altered last weekend. Confidence has returned.

When we meet, the Tories are stepping up their attacks on Mr Brown over his links with Charlie Whelan and Unite, the traffic kinship that has called a array of strikes opposite British Airways. Labours monetary faith on Unite it has paid the celebration �11 million given 1997 and Mr Browns loyalty with the former spin alloy at the back of the unions domestic appurtenance is an overwhelming target.

Mr Osborne skewers Mr Brown with the craziness "He cannot on the one palm reject the set upon and on the alternative take income from the kinship responsible." Unite, he reveals, is the one kinship that has refused to encounter him as piece of Conservative attempts to open a review with the traffic kinship movement. "We have had assorted meetings and a cooking with the TUC and utterly pointedly Unite did not spin up to any of them. I pretence thats deliberate."

He lays in to Mr Browns mess to put vigour on Unite to dump a set upon that is deleterious Britains mercantile reputation. "The set upon has been a window in to the universe of the Unite kinship and the appetite and shift over Gordon Brown and his premiership," he says. "These are the people who would essentially run the nation for a serve five years if he was re-elected. Mr Brown is boring the Labour Party leftwards, to the place where the Labour Party was for all those years until New Labour came along."

With the discuss all but started, the issue that will support the discuss in in between the parties and their leaders is honesty, Mr Osborne argues. A thirteen per cent bill deficit, credit rating agencies melancholy to hillside Britain, investors shaken about entrance here, "those things are the mercantile contribution of life", he says.

"In the end, this is about either you elect a supervision that is honest with you and has a charge to understanding with the problems this nation faces." He believes the electorate are all as well wakeful that the nation has a crippling debt problem. They can see the goods of it around them, together with the joblessness and the widespread of salary freezes, compensate cuts and part-time working. Beyond Westminster, vital standards have been falling. "This is the initial choosing in the complicated story when, if you ask the question, "Do you feel improved off than you did five years ago? the normal chairman answers "No. It is a flattering unusual on all sides for a nation to be in to have seen the impetus of wealth put in to retreat by this Labour Government."

He is assured that the open wish change, but their perspective of politicians, together with the Conservatives, is phony by the losses scandal. That is his reason for the poser of the polls if the electorate wish shift so much, since are the Tories not you do better?

"We need to up the appetite levels," he says. "This is the choosing of the generation. This is an choosing that is going to establish the citation that Britain takes for the subsequent generation." From mercantile decrease to amicable decay, "there couldnt be bigger issues at stake". He thumps the table. "We need some-more glow in the belly the Conservative leadership, the Conservative Party, the total Conservative family needs to take the quarrel to Labour, to assimilate that weve got weeks to go in an choosing that will establish the destiny and the predestine of this nation over the subsequent generation. I am up for that, David is up for that, he is operative each hour God sends, I am too, and so as well is the Shadow Cabinet."

Conservatives will be gay by the detonate of passion, but competence ask since the care has taken until right away to realize there is a fight on. Why is the enterprise for shift he detects not reflected improved in the polls? It will be once the discuss starts and electorate cruise the preference prior to them, he says.

Here he adds a short summary to those on the Right who have criticised the partys citation underneath Mr Cameron "It is not a referendum on the Conservative Party or the kind of Conservative Party you will want. It is not a referendum on the Labour Party. It is a preference in in between five some-more years of Gordon Brown or shift and care underneath David Cameron and the Conservatives. Gordon Brown has not continuous with the British people."

He does not contend undisguised that Mr Brown is a liar, but he leaves us in no disbelief that we should not hold a word the Prime Minister says. He doesnt. Labour is resorting to lies on the doorstep, of that he is certain. He lists a series of untruths in the brochures being sent to electorate by Labour in key marginals discordant to those claims, the Tories will not annul taxation credits or the grant credit or the winter fuel stipend (though a little on the Right contend they should).

The Tories are still confronting questions about tax, however, and here probity is a intensity weakness. They contend they cannot suggest taxation cuts unless they can equates to them, and they will not know what they can equates to until they have seen the books and clinging resources to the some-more dire complaint of shortening the deficit. Mr Osborne can usually repeat what he hopes the open knows instinctively to be loyal taxes have left up in cold blood underneath Gordon Brown, and will go on to do so if he is returned. The Tories in contrariety wish to plunge in to "the bulk" of the necessity by spending cuts.

Tax cuts will come later, but they will come. With usually days to go prior to a pre-election Budget that will figure the Tory manifesto, he will not be drawn on his plans but leaves a transparent sense that prior to polling day he will have something to offer, probably a rebate in the job-destroying climb in inhabitant word contributions.

"Look, Im a low taxation Conservative, I came in to governing body partly since I wish to be equates to to revoke taxes so that people have some-more of their income to spend, so that businesses have some-more of their income to emanate jobs, but I hold that reduce taxes are tolerable when you get the open finance management in order, so I will usually have promises I can keep on taxation."

As you competence expect, he rejects the explain that has stubborn him for months that he and the Tories done a vital inapplicable designation by entrance out so tough in foster of cuts, when the open was not rebuilt to attend to the denunciation of austerity. "Gordon Browns debt is a risk to the economy, that is positively central. When faced with the subject "Are you formulation swingeing cuts? David and I have pronounced no, we are not formulation swingeing cuts. We are formulation the cuts compulsory to get this nation to live inside of the means."

But there was enough disbelief about the process in Conservative circles to prompt conjecture about his destiny as shade chancellor. Mutterings in the City a little changed by his age (he is 38) rather than his capability go on to dog him. On Sunday Mr Cameron suggested that the dual had discussed either he should move to an additional portfolio. What happened? Mr Osborne hedges slightly.

"I have regularly pronounced to him it is positively his preference who is his shade chancellor and I wish to be there on merit. And so, nonetheless we are great friends, I dont wish to hold any pursuit usually since I am a crony of his. I wish it on merit. If he ever longed for to move me that is wholly his prerogative. But if you are seeking for a little specific situation I dont think you will find it."

He has been in the post longer than Mr Cameron has been leader, carrying been allocated by Michael Howard in the days after the 2005 defeat. In that time, he has experienced delight his proclamation on slicing genocide duties that stopped Gordon Browns choosing plans in their marks in 2007 and mess his short revisit to a Russian billionaires yacht with Peter Mandelson that lifted questions about his judgment. What has he learned?

"Ive schooled to be loyal to yourself, hang to the big arguments, dont get dreaming by the bland kerfuffle that is in the inlet of any approved system. Yes, you have to reply as things come along but dont lose steer of the unequivocally big argument. Because in the finish thats what counts. We done a big visualisation call in 2008 to have debt the issue and if you see at the total context of this election, that was the right call."