Skipper

So much has been written about the Blair and Brown years we almost need a special shelf in our bookcases to accommodate them. The current one up is by Alistair Darling,perhaps the only Cabinet member to acquit himself with honour during the second half of the Brown premiership. At issue, or at least one of the debates arising is the alleged decision of Brown tomove Darling in 2009 and replace him with his close confidant Ed Balls.

According to memoirs and the received wisdom at the time, Gordon was furious with Darling for describing the economic crisis as the 'worst for 60 years' when his line was to say the economy was well able to withstand any likely buffeting. He wanted to shift him to another job but Darling refused to budge, judging, rightly, that Brown lacked the political strength to sack him during such fraught times and when his own
personal stock was so low. He courageously stoodhis ground and his fellow Scot decided not to take him on.

Ed now denies he ever knew of such a plan and that he in any case opposed it. This is a problem of credibility: who would you believe first? A sober, hardworking, unrufflable Scot or a clearly ambitious master of the political black arts like Ed Balls? Nuff said.