The prime minister has fallen out with his chancellor? Happy Easter and please tell me something new. Indeed, tension between Nos 10 and 11 Downing Street is almost par for the course. Margaret Thatcher did not get on with Geoffrey Howe – her chancellor from 1979 to 1983 – and after he was moved on to other departments they eventually fell out completely over Europe, about which Thatcher thought Howe far too enthusiastic.
The tension between Tony Blair and his chancellor, Gordon Brown, between 1997 and 2007 was principally about Brown’s desire to take over the reins, but also about – here we go again – Europe. In that case, the argument was about whether or not to join the euro.
