‘Now we have got to have something to say’

A new map hangs in George Osborne’s office, showing the latest parliamentary boundaries for the next general election. It could have been designed to soothe the nerves of a Conservative party election co-ordinator, for it is dominated by Tory blue. A few tricks have been used to achieve this optical illusion. There is no Scotland, for example, and marginal Labour seats are painted a faint red. But overall the picture is of a Conservative country, and an election which is eminently winnable.

This is how Mr Osborne sees it — and not, he insists, just to keep morale up. ‘Although I never said so at the time, I went into previous general elections I was involved in — 1997, 2001 and 2005 — with a sense of foreboding,’ he says. ‘I felt it probably was not going to be the triumph we hoped it was and that we said publicly.’ Not this time. ‘I really feel we have a good message, a good campaign and a real prospect of winning.’ And as campaign director, it’s his job to turn this optimism into reality.

Last time the Tories hired Lynton Crosby, veteran of the Australian Liberal party campaigns, to be their election guru. This time David Cameron has turned to his closest parliamentary ally, Mr Osborne, the shadow chancellor, asking him to run the war room. And from the look of things, the war is already on. From Osborne’s goldfish-bowl office we can see rows of Tory workers toiling away. Every desk is occupied. Defaced pictures of Gordon Brown are on the walls. It is hard to think it would be busier at the height of an election campaign.