Division Lobbies

George Osborne should be made heritably liable, by primary legislation, for the loss to the State from the privatisation of RBS. And of the Royal Mail, come to that.

That is not as far-fetched as it sounds. Any Conservative majority of less than 100 is really a hung Parliament. They hate each other that much.

The present majority is a very great deal less than 100.

So far, that Human Rights Act business has been abandoned, the pressure is on to scrap the Bedroom Tax, and the troops are marshalling to secure a huge increase in spending on rural state primary schools.

So much for the Government's being the hostage of the Right, at least as defined in anything resembling conventional terms. The Right needs to get its act together.

Here is an opportunity to do so. Here is an opportunity to insist on fiscal responsibility by punishing the wanton dereliction of it.