The collapse of the Government’s financial platform and the civil war now going on in the Tory party, rent asunder by almost everything, requires a new Chancellor to stop the rot. That is unlikely to happen because Cameron is fighting on two fronts. He has a public relations calamity over the budget and its aftermath and a chunk of his cabinet campaigning for Brexit. A government split is one thing but one bust into pieces is quite another. He cannot sack Osborne for dumping him in this reeking ordure of a budget, because Cameron needs his neighbour’s support for Remain. Unfortunately Osborne’s blessing may now be toxic and undermine the Remain campaign. Nobody has a clue which of his figures to believe, what are facts in his rhetoric and which bits he is making up.
The real danger is however more worrying. This blog warned at the beginning that referenda are notorious for becoming a vote about something other than the question on the ballot paper, most commonly a verdict on the government. If that happens in the midst of this Tory mayhem and voters turn on the two old Etonians and vote to Leave, Remain might lose quite badly. It would be better to get rid of Osborne now. Shelf life is short in politics and by June Osborne could be but a vague memory.