George Osborne’s own personal recovery

The other day, George Osborne was walking with his wife across the courtyard of the Royal Academy. In the evening sunshine, the Chancellor spotted another Tory MP in the opposite corner. The MP was on his mobile: a wave would have seen courtesies observed. But Osborne, who was dressed for dinner, strode over and waited from a polite distance as the call was concluded. His eagerness to talk was particularly striking since the MP had been a frequent critic of Osborne’s handling of the economy.

When the conservation started it was clear that the MP’s criticisms were the reason Osborne had come over. The Chancellor, in buoyant mood, wanted to get the MP’s views on how the economy was going. He asked the question because he knew the answer. Sure enough, his critic said that it looked like the economy was going to grow solidly, if not spectacularly, between now and the next election.