Nurse Ratchet

The Government has picked the wrong fight this time. And it knows that it does not have to do this. The Labour Party went into the post-Crash General Election of 2010 with a commitment to cut spending by £10 billion, half of it from the NHS. But there was nothing approaching that from the Conservatives.

Once they had got rid of the Liberal Democrat heirs of Oliver Smedley, Arthur Seldon and Alfred Roberts, then they simply printed the money. Today, they are on 45 points to Labour's 32, while among the working-class voters who decide General Elections their lead is 52 to 27. Yet they run the risk of squandering it.

This week's Budget confronted the electorate with two parties that both wanted to freeze the personal tax allowance, but one of which also opposed an increase in corporation tax on the most profitable companies. It was obvious which was the more left-wing, and the polls confirmed that that was also the more popular. 

Now, however, by going all Liam Byrne, Chris Leslie or Anneliese Dodds on the nurses, then the Conservatives are making everything far less clear, thereby making their own position far less secure.