The notorious syndrome causes chancellors to demand savings that look ingenious but really aren’t. No 10 must be vigilant
An unwritten law of Westminster mechanics states that power, in the absence of a countervailing force, gravitates to the Treasury.
The governing agenda can be set in No 10, but a prime minister has few instruments of control as immediate and far-reaching as the purse strings in a chancellor’s hand.
Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist
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