MP Alan Campbell column: We can't afford the Tories

There’s a rule which says chancellors must not leak their budget before delivering it to the House of Commons.

At least one Chancellor paid for this lapse with his job.

How different it seems nowadays. If ministers resigned for leaking statements today, there would be few left in the Cabinet.

Last week’s Budget statement seemed subdued.

Perhaps MPs had forgotten the significance of a Budget, after all, the previous two chancellors had not lasted long enough to deliver one.

Or maybe having been comprehensively leaked, there wasn’t much new to reveal.