NO 10 Q & A

DAVID Cameron gives his first full-scale Downing Street press conference today since his love-in with Nick Clegg in the No 10 garden in May. It is only fair to say that the prime minister gives the impression of being in control and of enjoying the job. However he will face some tough questioning, especially on his unwise insistence that “we're all in this together”. With only a week to go before the Chancellor, George Osborne, has to put his cards on the House of Commons dispatch box there seem to be only three ministers still in detailed negotiations with the Treasury -- Liam Fox for Defence, of course, Michael Gove for Education and Iain Duncan Smith for Work and Pensions. Fox has the toughest task and, ultimately, the most important one.

For light relief at today's Q and A Mr Cameron is likely to speak about the results of Sir Philip Green's two month investigation into the government's “operational efficiency” and its property management policies. He will say how valuable it has been. “Overheads” have now taken the place of “efficiency savings” as the means by which “front line” services will be preserved.

It's all so much word-playing but the Cabinet Minister Francis Maude introduced some hard reality in the Sunday Times when he said that he intends to establish “Stalinist” financial controls and will personally approve any IT project costing more than one million pounds. I wonder where the gulags are.