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Political mood turns as Budget report is met with Tory taunts

As Alistair Darling delivered his pre-Budget report on Tuesday, it was clear that a sea change had taken place in the House of Commons

As Alistair Darling delivered his pre-Budget report on Tuesday, it was clear that a sea change had taken place in the House of Commons. For years, the Tories had listened to such statements in awestruck silence, as if waiting to hear how Gordon Brown would hit them next. But this time there were hoots of derision from Tory benches as the Chancellor stood up and claimed – falsely, as it turned out – to have copied their plans for inheritance tax cuts.

It was as if power were visibly shifting.

Darling cuts a forlorn figure. His reputation for competence perished in last month’s Northern Rock fiasco and his only role in the Comprehensive Spending Review was to read it out, not write it. His lips may have been moving, but the House heard Gordon Brown’s voice. Everyone seemed aware of the truth: that Darling is no more a Chancellor than Captain Scarlet was an actor. But the Tories did not seem afraid of the Prime Minister sitting to his left either.

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