MobileAccess to government figures: Westminster opinion sides against Osborne (just)
14:29 | Insider Research
George Osborne is seizing on an opportunity to score political points rather than having a genuine grievance over access to government information, in the view of most Westminster insiders.
PoliticsHome consulted the cross-party panel of political experts and insiders – which includes MPs and peers, leading media commentators, key party strategists and think tank heads – on the latest controversy, which saw Peter Mandelson brand Osborne a liar on television this morning.
Fifty one per cent of insiders reckon that Osborne is making political hay out of what is a standard procedural delay more than a vast conspiracy.
A substantial forty six per cent minority, however, disagree, and believe that underlying this spat is a genuine attempt by Downing Street to obstruct access to key information.
Panellists across the political spectrum held the consensus view, with the exception of those on the right who gave strong backing to Osborne.
Parliamentarians especially strongly held the view that this was simply a standard bureaucratic hurdle.
Do you think George Osborne's accusation that the government is denying the Tories crucial information about the public finances was just making political hay out of a standard bureaucratic hurdle or points to an active effort by Downing Street to hide facts?
Sub-conscious
A Lib Dem strategist argued that any attempt to obstruct access was ‘maybe not active, probably sub-conscious’.
A panellist at a left-leaning think tank set a key test, which was: ‘Can Osborne show that any previous opposition got this info? Was it given to Labour pre-97? If so, he has a point. If not, this is dishonest posturing.’
A right-leaning panellist believed that: ‘Brown has form on this’. A Labour MP however accused Osborne of an ‘immature response’.