When I arrived at Cambridge in 1975, a nervous freshman, I remember walking with a friend past Newnham and being introduced to a third-year undergraduate. She was attractive, witty, confident, well-connected, at home in the world of the ‘glittering prizes’ (the irritating phrase which gave its name to Frederick Raphael’s novel of that time). I envied her poise. Her name was Diane Abbott. Later, making many sacrifices for her career, she changed her accent, became ‘working-class’, and had a relationship with Jeremy Corbyn, but for me she will always be Diane, the posh goddess. So perhaps I am biased, but hearing her on the Today programme on Tuesday attacking George Osborne’s ‘charter’ which will force all future governments to maintain a budget surplus, I reckoned she was right. What is this mania for making laws about what should be matters of policy? We are committed by law, for example, to make international development spending correspond with a particular percentage of GDP.
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