Has Tom Baldwin infiltrated CCHQ?

It looks like Tom Baldwin’s infamous instructive letter has done the trick.

Yesterday’s crime maps were launched by the Conservative Party as the work of the "Conservative-led coalition".

But this isn’t the coalition government’s initiative; it’s the work of the Conservative-led government. Who says? The Conservative-led government itself.

Yesterday’s Conservative Party press release to fanfare the launch proudly declares that the "the Conservative-led coalition government is introducing a series of measures as part of their plan to fight crime.”

Baldwin, Ed Miliband's chief spinner, caused consternation among journalists recently when he sent out an email encouraging them drop the term "coalition government" and replace it with "Tory-led government".

I’m told that Tory backbenchers, previously instructed to avoid the description, double-checked with party whips before the press release was sent out with their names on it.

But no, Conservative-led government it is. I wonder how that squares with the deputy prime minister’s determination to take "full ownership" of the coalition’s successes or failures?

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