Osborne's last ill thought out hurrah

There is a general unwritten political convention that opposition party spokesmen don't talk down the economy or make statements, often based on their privileged position and inside knowledge, that will damage employment, sterling, and the economy as a whole.

A few months ago the Conservatives has a real dig at Alistair Darling for stating the obvious when he said the recession would be worse than expected. Strangely though, George Osborne's memory seems very patchy because not only does his recollection of his holiday Corfu differ from the one his host recalled, despite him leading the criticism of the Chancellor a few short weeks ago, he has now broken the convention I mentioned earlier by seemingly talking down sterling in what many are saying is a last desperate attempt to prove his relevance to the Tory Party.

Perhaps as others write, it is a last hurrah in an attempt to head off his replacement by Ken Clarke.