Richard Drax and the Budget X-File
Richard Drax
On Wednesday the Chancellor painted the broad brush strokes of his Budget across the national canvas.
The subsequent arrival in my in box of an email from Richard Drax MP promised a more intimate and personal take on the contents of the red box.
"Richard Drax: A Budget for Growth, Jobs and Families" - the title of the press release almost suggested the Conservative MP for South Dorset had drawn up the Budget himself.
Ploughing into the body of the text, though, I was puzzled to find a man so generously endowed in the name department - his full surname is Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax - simply described as "X MP".
"X MP" welcomed the Budget, apparently. Indeed, a few paragraphs later we were told in no uncertain terms exactly what "X MP" had said when he was welcoming the Budget.
Things then took an even more confusing turn as the press release urged readers to contact "XXX on XXX" for further information.
The Editor's Notes which followed finally shook the cat's claws clear of the bag:
"Measures to promote growth in (INSERT REGION): (insert regional measures here from Budget brief).
It looked like a national summary of the Budget's highlights produced by the Treasury or Conservative HQ... because it was. Albeit with some modest scope for personalisation - a bit like a Christmas round robin in reverse.
Either that or a quadrupled-barrelled MP, major landowner and former television reporter is making a late and unlikely bid for anonymity.
Mr Drax has confirmed that it was the former. He told me he'd taken the unusual step of using the template to ensure all the Budget details were correct.
He also made the very reasonable point that getting your head round the details quickly on Budget day itself is a herculean task. As somebody trying to do something very similar myself on Wednesday, I can sympathise.
A second email arrived soon after which included Mr Drax's personal thoughts as well as the official Government line.
How do I know the whole thing wasn't scripted by the Government's policy police?
The call for Britain to leave the European Union rather gives the game away.
I'm Martyn Oates, the BBC's Political Editor and Politics Show presenter in the South West. This is my take on politics, high and low, from Portland to Penzance.
