Patrick Wintour has an insightful article in today’s Guardian, setting out how and why Brown has dithered when it comes to deploying the c-word. So far as the current landscape is concerned, this passage is particularly striking:
“There is tension between Brown and Darling on how far the campaign can be based on Brown’s achievements in saving the world economy, and how far it must be based on visions of the future. Brown’s determination to dwell on the fact that he made the correct big decisions in the recession has been one cause of his past reluctance to address the future deficit mountain, and how to deal with it.
It is understood that Brown first agreed with his advisers to be more open about the need for cuts at a meeting of the liaison committee of senior MPs on 16 July and again in an interview with the Financial Times scheduled for his return from the summer break in September.
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