5. Pastygate
In the March 2012 Budget George Osborne controversially proposed that any food served "above ambient room temperature" - meaning pasties, pies and sausage rolls served hot - would be taxed at 20% to address what he described as an anomaly in the system, bringing these foods in line with other take away meals. In Northern urban areas like Wigan - which is my nearest town - I can confirm that pies and and pasties are consumed in vast numbers and women go out to clubs in dresses made of pastry to participate in a fertility ritual as old as time itself. Thus, understandably, this proposal sparked howls of protest. Small bakeries were up in arms and warned of decreased profits, job losses and shop closures. It was denounced as an attack on ordinary working people - who have the odd pasty, pie or sausage roll, or indeed all three, for lunch - by the wealthy. Even Tory backbenchers kicked up a fuss and during Prime Ministers Questions Liberal Democrat MP Steve Gilbert asked the Prime Minister why pasties were to be subjected to VAT when caviar is exempt. Mr Osborne attracted further ridicule after he claimed that he couldnt remember the last time he ate a pasty from Greggs and David Cameron was caught in a half-truth when he described the last time he purchased a pasty from what turned out to be a non-existent shop. To compound the nation's ire George also outlined plans for an increase in tax on static caravans. The backlash was long and loud. TV host Paul O'Grady weighed in with his opinion. "I'd watched the news about these cuts and seen all the Tories laughing about it in parliament," he said."I loathe George Osborne... When they started taxing pasties and static caravans I went ballistic. It's lunacy." A Save Our Savouries (SOS) campaign was launched by bakers who marched on Downing Street. It wasn't long before Mr Osborne wrote to Andrew Tyrie, the chairman of the Treasury select committee, to confirm the climbdown. He also amended plans to tax static caravans. Further embarrassment was averted, but by then he'd made an enemy for life in the shape of the former Lily Savage. Not good.