George Osborne’s freeze in fuel duty was intended to placate those Tory MPs such as Nadine Dorries who claim that the Chancellor is a “posh boy” with no awareness of the cost of living crisis facing voters. But Dorries hasn’t responded well to Osborne’s decision to send junior Treasury minister Chloe Smith out to bat for the government on last night’s Newsnight.
The MP took to Twitter to declare that Osborne was “a coward as well as arrogant”, adding: “Newsnight last night would have been a tough gig for a Minister with years of experience – Chloe is a good egg and didn’t deserve that.” In an allusion to the Chancellor’s Westminster nickname, she ended: “The submarine Chancellor sacrifices another Minister whilst he slips under the surface…again.”