Who did what ?

We may have to re-evaluate the contribution of former BBC producer Thea Rogers to the Osborne project. Many have lept to defend her entitlement to an OBE for 'political and public service' since it was formally announced yesterday.

They include James Forsyth of The Spectator, Gabby Hinsliff of The Guardian, Dan Hodges of the Mail on Sunday and Tom Newton Dunn of The Sun. Perhaps most interesting were supportive Tweets from Osborne's previous Chief of Staff, Rupert Harrison.

Congrats to Thea Rogers for her OBE. The driving force behind the national living wage & originator of the Northern Powerhouse concept (1/2)

— Rupert Harrison (@rbrharrison) 4 August 2016

(2/2) some revolting sexism on display by those labelling her a stylist. She has the best political and comms judgement I have come across

— Rupert Harrison (@rbrharrison) August 4, 2016

Thea ignores Pesto's
shoelaces at Spectator
party - their picture

Twitter cynics suggested the National Living Wage was just a rebrand on an increase in the National Minimum Wage, and the Northern Powerhouse was a marketing concept already fading from the pages of political history.

Perhaps we'll judge Thea's role in public life more by her next job.