Andrew Murrison MP

The fact that Mr Brown’s alleged bullying does not appear to have damaged his poll ratings should be cause for regret, regardless of political persuasion. Whatever the Prime Minister has or has not been up to, it’s wrong to associate bullying with strength.

 Aircraft carriers are bold statements of where a maritime country stands in the world and to a large extent what it thinks of itself. Their mobile airfields facilitate the global reach without which a country risks becoming a second division power liable, in a troubled world, to be relegated to the periphery of key international bodies.

On the two new ones planned, the government and the opposition have been dancing together on the head of a pin. Labour came out with all guns blazing, accusing the Conservatives of failing to say categorically that they will retain the two enormous capital ships currently in the pipeline. However, on Monday at the despatch box defence ministers were lost for words when taunted over their failure to do precisely the same thing.

After you’ve batted away the pre-election grandstanding, you find that both parties have wisely backed the purchase of similar naval and military hardware but both, having announced their comprehensive strategic defence review, are reluctant to start chipping away at its scope. That seems perfectly sensible to me.

The markets have been wobbling in time with the polling data. The pound has been under pressure finding itself at a nine month low against the greenback. The City is worried about the UK’s debt mountain and the consequent prospect of a threat to our credit rating. It wants the deficit cut. But what really gives it the vapours is the spectre of a hung parliament with all the attendant indecision and likelihood of another election in short order.