Minister at the cutting edge of arrogance

Tory leader David Cameron's obfuscation over the tax status of Lord Ashcroft (of Belize), one of the party's primary donors, has further damaged his reputation – and cast doubt on his judgment.

So, too, has Gordon Brown's refusal to acknowledge that it was premature of him to claim that the economic cycle of "boom and bust" had been consigned to history under his Chancellorship.

And Nick Clegg does himself no favours by fence-sitting over whether the Liberal Democrats would support Labour or the Tories in the event of a hung parliament. He must have an inkling.

Yet all three leaders are surpassed by the arrogance of John Denham, the Communities and Local Government Secretary, in the growing row about the number of town hall jobs that will be cut over the next five years as local authorities struggle with the fall-out from the recession.

This is his responsibility. Yet, listening to Denham on the radio, all he tried to do was blame the Tories because they manage more councils than Labour.

What he did not point out is that the Government – ie Denham – funds 80 per cent of local authority spending through nationally-agreed grants, and that the precept levelled by local authorities makes little material difference to the overall council tax.

And while these grants have risen by an above-inflation four per cent this year, presumably because an election is in the offing, Denham was completely unable to state – even though it is his department – whether Gordon Brown's pledge to increase spending will be sustainable after the election.

All he could do is say that cuts could be achieved by "efficiency savings" – the politicians' favourite phrase. Again, there were no specifics.

But, if this approach is sustainable, and I believe there is scope, there has to be "inefficiencies" in the first place. And whose fault is that? Ministers like John Denham who seem to have no compunction that it is the public's money that they are spending when they come up with their gimmicks – particularly at election time.

If efficiency savings are the way forward, might I suggest that all the parties embrace Tory plans to cut the number of Ministers and MPs? We won't be any worse off.

THINGS must be going badly when a politician promises to be "straight"

with voters – the latest tactic deployed by George Osborne, the under-fire Shadow Chancellor. Of course, it will be in the pipsqueak's interests to be candid with voters if he moves into 11 Downing Street after the election.

He'll be able to blame Labour's excess for Tory spending cuts. Yet don't politicians have a moral obligation to be "straight" with the public at all times, and that they only feel the need to reinforce this necessity when they have something to hide?

PERHAPS the most profound tribute to Michael Foot, the former Labour leader who died this week, came from one of his greatest opponents – Michael, now Lord, Heseltine, the former Deputy Prime Minister. Examining the current political class, and how personal gain appears rife, he said that this charge could never have been levelled against Foot who stuck to his Socialist principles for all his 96 years – and that he could never be accused of putting his interests before those of others.

HAVE you noticed this split at the top of government over the return to prison of Jon Venables – one of the killers of Jamie Bulger?

Home Secretary Alan Johnson, the Hull MP, says the public have a right to know the reasons for Venables return to custody, while wishy-washy liberal Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary whose failings were highlighted here last week, disagrees and says it is not in the public interest for details to be released. It begs one question: who is in charge of the Government's law and order agenda?

THIS is what happens when the BBC employs a retired runner, rower and skier to front its coverage of the ice hockey final at the Vancouver Winter Olympics – one of the defining events of the 2010 sporting year.

They were so full of their own importance, and so lacking any knowledge of the basic rules, that they were oblivious to how sudden-death overtime between Canada and the United States would favour the hosts because each team could only have four outskaters instead of five.

And so it proved – the brilliant and talismanic Sidney Crosby,

Canada's poster boy, scoring a brilliant winner to round off the Olympics and show why home success will determine the success, or otherwise, of the 2012 Olympics in London. It can only be hoped that the BBC employs some proper pundits, rather than some celebrities, to explain the sports, and their finer points, to the viewing public.

Licence fee papers certainly deserve better. And so do the Olympic organisers if the Games is to be the catalyst for a grassroots sporting revolution across the UK.

WHAT does it say about the tangled private live of former England captain John Terry when Craig Bellamy, a footballer who is hardly a saint himself, says "everybody in football knows what the guy is like".

If Bellamy realises this, it just shows that Terry is unfit to wear the "three lions" shirt at the World Cup this summer and should be dropped from the squad altogether.

If a high-profile footballer is shown the red card for his personal misconduct, it might prompt other footballers to realise that they're

better off following the teetotal lead set by Leeds-born James Milner – the ultimate professional.

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