George Osborne, shadow chancellor, has outlined eight benchmarks against which he wanted a Conservative government to be judged.

It’s all very reminiscent of Labour’s five pledges in 1997. But even though those pledges have been long forgotten and have never been the measure by which the Labour government has been judged, these benchmarks (see below) deserve to be taken seriously, since the Conservatives are still the most likely party of government in a few months.

Superficially attractive, my view is there are many flaws with these benchmarks, however, which makes me predict they will not catch on as a measure of true success of a Conservative government, should one be formed.

• Most benchmarks are too easy. Many are a simple consequence of cutting public spending, which both parties plan. Benchmarks 1, 2, 5 and 6 will be met as long as government spending is cut along the lines Labour is already planning. Benchmark 7 is a continuation of the current trends for deleverage and less reliance on wholesale funding in the banking sector. Starting at the depth of a recession, benchmark 3 will be met as long as the next government is not an abject failure. That just leaves Benchmarks 4 and 8.
• Some benchmarks are not necessarily desirable. Benchmarks 1 and 4 put the government in hock to credit ratings agencies and arbitrary international comparisons. There is little evidence that scoring well on World Economic Forum’s indicators of tax competitiveness or business regulation has a significant effect on the well-being of British citizens.
• Some benchmarks are not consistent. Improving public sector productivity in Benchmark 6 cannot guarantee better schools and hospitals. If the workforce in these services were halved, productivity would be sky-high, but service quality would not. Services may be better value for money without being better.
• Some obvious benchmarks are missing. Where is a commitment to improved living standards, for example, surely the primary economic goal?

While you get a sense of the priorities of a coming Conservative government, there is also the over-riding impression that Tory politicians want to be judged on their own slightly-fake, easy-to-pass tests. It makes the party’s complaints over the dumbing-down of the assessment of school quality seem hypocritical.

The benchmarks in full: