Goodbye, Austerity Chancellor. Hello, leadership contender. The Autumn Statement was framed to please Conservative backbenchers rather than crafted to balance the books.
He has succeeded in boosting recovery, but failed to eliminate the deficit. Now he must prove his determination to fix that roof – whether the sun is shining or not.
We cannot know. But however important that question is, it should not be the only one that MPs ask if they vote on bombing ISIS in Syria – or even the main one.
It would be pusillanimous not to join France in Syria for fear of an ISIS attack here. But Tory backbenchers should go into any vote with their eyes wide open.
It will present its conclusions to the Party Board when evidence-taking is complete. Publication of a report has not been ruled out.
As the sole Chairman post-election, and the real one before that, it is his responsibility to now get the Legarde Report completed and published as soon as possible.
Without a report, closure won’t happen. The claims will simply get bigger and louder.
The case for attacking ISIS there will vary. That for tackling Islamist extremism here does not.
A boost for Len Pen. A blow to Merkel. More Europe-wide security measures. No Commons vote on bombing Syria. And, more distantly, the end of free movement?
He cannot wave away the possibility, even the likelihood, of recession returning before 2020.
The Prime Minister and the Chancellor will undoubtedly now be brooding about means of getting the Home Secretary out of the Home Office.
When the renegotiation is over, we will be left with British membership of the EU on largely the present terms. The question that remains is: In or Out?
There is emphatic support for the provision of emergency aid, water, sanitation and immunisation – but strong opposition to wider nation-building measures.
The Sunday Telegraph reports that there will be an announcement within the next few weeks.