George Osborne is a politician to his fingertips: the Conservative shadow chancellor was forged by a professional lifetime within the Tory party spin machine. But, if he wants to be a successful chancellor, Mr Osborne will need to rein in his well-honed instincts on positioning and headline-grabbing in favour of greater focus on policy.

Since the economic crisis began, the Tories have tapped into popular concern about the country’s public deficit. If Mr Osborne takes over at the Treasury, as is expected, after a Conservative general election win next year, he will need to close a fiscal gap of greater than 12 per cent of output. Spending will need to be cut.