Darling lays down the spending gauntlet – but will it be flung back in his face?

So here it is.  After rumblings that Brown is prepared to set out spending cuts – rather than hiding them away in he small print of the Budget – Alastair Darling confirms the new strategy in an interview with the Times.  He doesn’t actually use the word “cuts”, but it amounts to that:

“‘As there is less uncertainty you can decide what your priorities are,’ he said.