Spot the difference

摘要

Oliver letwin, Britain's shadow chancellor, is a very agreeable chap. When he was shadow home secretary he agreed, to the irritation of interviewers trying to stir up a bit of argument, with many of the government's law-and-order policies. Now that he is in charge of the Conservatives' thinking on money matters, he agrees with many of the government's economic and fiscal policies. There is a lot to be said for an opposition politician who does not automatically kick the minister in the teeth every time he opens his mouth. Even governments sometimes do sensible things. Mr Letwin has, for instance, decided to adopt Gordon Brown's "golden rule"-that the government should borrow only to invest over the course of the economic cycle. That's a fine idea. The rule, if properly enforced, is a reasonable fiscal discipline, and if successive governments stick to it, it is more likely to work. But Mr Letwin is taking the business of agreeing with the government too far.