The Chancellor’s lucky break

Alistair Darling really should send Mohamed al-Fayed a thank you note. Fayed’s testimony is bound to bump Northern Rock off at least the front pages of the tabloids tomorrow. Perhaps this knowledge explains why Darling produced a calmer and more confident performance in the Commons today than many of us expected he would.

The most effective speeches came from Vince Cable and Ken Clarke. Cable took a well deserved victory lap and landed as many hits on George Osborne as Darling; Cable is clearly keen to keep ownership of this issue. While Clarke pointed out in his typical saloon bar style just what a distorting effect on the market the presence of a government owned bank would have on the financial marketplace.

George Osborne got all of his sound bites off and I expect that his performance will look better on the evening news than it did live on television.