Do the government have any idea what they’re doing?

Sometimes you just have to ask yourself – do the government have any idea what they’re doing?

Yesterday’s lightening quick u-turn on fuel duty (which we measured at around 15 hours) looked to many like a set up. Obviously Ed Balls must has known this fuel duty cut was planned, the media wailed. A leak must have somehow found itself from the Treasury to Balls.

Yet for a leak to have taken place, the fuel duty cut must have been planned in advance.

Chloe Smith’s disastrous performance on Newsnight has led many to suspect that she knew little of the fuel tax cut before it was announced – despite being the minister responsible for fuel duty. And today, it was confirmed that the cabinet – who met yesterday morning – knew nothing of the fuel tax cut until it was announced in the house.

Is government policy to the tune of half a billion pounds now being made on the hoof by the PM and the Chancellor on a Tuesday afternoon? The cabinet were as in the dark as the rest of us. The minister responsible for the cut can’t say how much it will cost.

What an utter mess.

What a bunch of rank amateurs.

Osborne might as well admit that his budget – delivered just a few weeks ago – is now a historical document, not an accurate description of what the government is actually doing. He couldn’t have made more of a mess of it if he’d been making it up as he went along…

Sometimes you just have to ask yourself – do the government have any idea what they’re doing?