Whatever the economic equivalent of a “dog-whistle” is, Alistair Darling needs to blow on it loud and clear today. The briefings and counter-briefings from Numbers Ten and Eleven in recent weeks have made clear the rift between a Chancellor who wants at least to acknowledge fiscal reality, and a Prime Minister who wants to keep spending and borrowing, though the Heavens fall. Darling needs to remain notionally loyal to his boss but make it clear to those looking for the right signals that he grasps the true nature of the crisis and understands that this Budget is about more than establishing political dividing-lines against the Tories.
The PM has already won the day to the extent that the trailer soundbite for this Budget is “invest to grow” – a classic New Labour formulation containing within it the delusion that all public spending is “investment” and the no-less ridiculous implication that Labour public spending leads to growth.
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