In the mid-1980s, Labour leader Neil Kinnock was considering splitting the Treasury in two, with one half focussed on its responsibility as a finance department and the other on economic growth. He asked his shadow chancellor, Roy Hattersley, which department he would like to lead in government. Hattersley replied: "Whichever one is called the Treasury."
I was reminded of this (possibly apocryphal) anecdote today, when it emerged that Francis Maude, a former minister and Conservative Party chair, had produced a review which is to recommend, amongst other things, that the Treasury be broken up.
