One lump or two?

Frossard House is buzzing about what exactly happened last Tuesday during the bust-up between Chief Minister Lyndon Trott and Deputy Barry Brehaut.

Although officials were immediately gagged, it all leaked out anyway. It is being described as a 'robust exchange' by Deputy Trott, pictured right, who faces a code of conduct complaint.

You might question, if it had happened behind closed doors, whether it would have got this far but the rumour mill was running wild about the incident and at least if it goes as far as the panel, the full story should be forthcoming.

So spare a thought for Deputy Trott. Why? When he was speaking about the role of the chief minister at June's Chamber of Commerce lunch, he said: 'I have found, as have my predecessors, that the way in which the chief minister's role was structured and the lack of a toolbox of ministerial powers mean the job has to be done largely by a combination of force of personality and respect from my colleagues.'

Everyone is an expert when it comes to waste.

A wave of proposals to delay or alter Public Services' report has come in, as expected.

He reportedly admitted privately that the department's proposition to take the decision itself on which company should win was likely to fail and subsequent opinion backs that. So how did proposition four ever make it into print?

This week's debate promises to be the meatiest the new House has addressed.

Making predictions about the economy is a dangerous game.

On the back of September's RPI figures, the message from then-Treasury minister Lyndon Trott was that things had plateaued and would fall back significantly this year.

Now inflation has hit a 17-year high, we are in the middle of possible further strike action over pay and the unions have met the Policy Council after demanding urgent talks over inflation concerns.

One question now has to be, how does this all fit in with the tax strategy?

One of its central planks is retaining public expenditure at RPI or below – wage predictions in last year's budget allowed for a 3.5% rise. It does not add up.

The problem with inflation is that so much of it is imported – we await Treasury's quarterly newsletter with interest.