With a too close - to - call general election, a left - wing Labour takeover that nobody saw coming, a Tory
backlash over tax credits and an intense debate over military action in Syria, few could argue that British politics has been boring in recent months.
As George Osborne faced a
backlash last year
over his planned
tax credit cuts, Mercer urged the chancellor to find «something, anything that might mitigate the harshest effects of this policy on our most vulnerable».