Problem is, this manifesto risks going the same way as the Budget. So much of it has been so heavily trailed, that there's a danger we've already heard it all – and that it will be met with weary indifference by the media and the public alike.
Votes for 16 year olds; jobs or training for unemployed under-25s; a referendum on an alternative vote system; a pledge not to raise the basic rate of income tax; 'Cadbury's Law'; plans to allow football supporters to buy a stake in their clubs; even public sector takeovers – all have been mentioned in interviews or briefings by Labour ministers before now. Which doesn't, of course, preclude any surprises – and I'm not saying that a manifesto should be one electric policy shock after another – but still...
If so, that leaves all three parties in a similar position on VAT: unwilling to completely rule out a VAT hike, but unwilling to rule it in as well. But, as you know, this hasn't stopped the Lib Dems from caricaturing the Tories as the party of higher VAT. And, if Ed Balls gets his way, it might not stop Labour. This campaign could descend to even grubbier, less honest levels yet.