Alistair Darling was one of the ministers to emerge from the Brown years with his
reputation enhanced. His honesty about the state of the economy, beginning with that extraordinarily stark interview about the coming collapse, contrasted with what is politely described as
Brown’s eternal optimism. Darling also deserves commendation for fighting Brown and Balls’ shameless politicking, and for winning.
Most popular
John O’Neill and Michael Simmons
How England voted: the election results in maps and charts
However, Darling lost the battle over raising VAT hike. Darling told Andrew Marr this morning:
‘There’s a choice really, you can put up VAT or you can put up an income-related tax which is what the National Insurance is… “The advantage of VAT is it brings in a lot of money. ‘The former chancellor said he felt that Labour failed to make the case to voters for what it would do after the economy returned to growth.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in