Darling enters election mode

There must be something about stepping back onto Scottish soil that invigorates Alistair Darling, because his Edinburgh speech is one of the most political and confrontational he has delivered for some time. Sure, Darling is a Labour man, so it’s part of his job to oppose the Tories. But, compared to his Cabinet colleagues, he’s normally so restrained about it. Here, though, the gloves are well and truly off.

The Chancellor calls Cameron a “real risk to Scotland’s future,” and throws in a dash of Thatcher-baiting (“The Tories … are as out of touch now as they were 30 years ago”). But, really, there are two passages worth dwelling on, for what they might tell us about Labour’s election campaign. First, this:

“We should know how [the Tories] intend to reduce the deficit. In how many years? How much would they spend next year to support the economy and have they any plan for growth?”