The Guardian view on George Osborne: free and frightening | Editorial
George Osborne is in a rare and happy position for a British chancellor: he is under no real pressure at all. His place in No 11, next door to his best friend in politics, is entirely secure. Credited by many Conservatives as the mastermind behind the party's surprise outright victory, the backbenches are inclined to give him room to do things his own way, rather than nagging for immediate tax cuts. The opposition lacks a leader, and the markets are so hungry for government bonds that they are prepared to fund even crisis-hit Portugal for bargain-basement rates. HM Treasury can effectively borrow whatever it pleases.
So when the chancellor took his turn in the Queen's speech debate on Thursday, the Commons was looking at Mr Osborne unbound. Had he wanted to cut himself a little slack, here was his moment. He would have had every reason. During an election campaign when hopes of a Conservative majority seemed like fantasy, the Tories had pledged a lot of wild things: accelerated cuts to social security and public services, a dash towards an unnecessary budget surplus, and retrenchment so unbalanced that it would fall 98% on public expenditure, and only 2% on taxation. But in a second hung parliament, all this would have been safely traded away in coalition talks. Now, with the wind in his sails and a Commons majority, Mr Osborne could have quietly diluted it all on his own without any real complaint.
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