Why won’t the government debate with Labour on the economy?

As we noted yesterday, the Tories are feeling pretty smug about the economy (although considering the recent fall in wages, they shouldn’t be) – but for some reason they aren’t keen to debate the economy with Labour.

Shadow Chief Secretary Chris Leslie was expecting to be on Newsnight last night – except they were forced to cancel the interview. Seemingly not a single government minister was willing to appear on the show:

That’s hardly a sign of a government that thinks they’re onto a runaway success.

On a similar note –  a little noticed detail in yesterday’s Standard/Ipsos-Mori poll was that Osborne as Tory leader (vs Miliband as Lab leader) would lead to a 9 point Labour lead. That’s far greater than the leads Labour are currently enjoying (indeed, the same poll had Labour and the Tories tied on 33 points).

It seems that despite the Tory commentariat proclaiming Osborne’s newfound “popularity” – it still looks like he’s a drag on the Tory Party, and an unpopular choice for next Tory leader…