The Tories need to get economical

Nick Clegg handed Gordon Brown a lifeline in one respect: the economy’s old hat compared to the Clegg frenzy. Not any more. The news that unemployment rose by 43,000 between December and February, together with yesterday’s dramatic inflation rise, has dumped the economy back onto the front pages. The Tories must keep it there; this election should be about the economy and nothing else.

Obviously, these figures, which are worse than expected, lend weight to the argument that Brown’s policies impair recovery. Also, they demolish Brown’s claim that he ran up a deficit in the boom years to protect employment: unemployment is now higher than it was 16 years ago.

As Paul Goodman argues at Con Home, the Tories must press the case that Ken Clarke’s legacy has been well and truly squandered, and at a terrible and ongoing cost. That is all they need do. The Tories have reacted to Clegg’s ascent with the scattergun.