Alistair Darling — looking rather more relaxed than he did as the global financial system collapsed, or Gordon Brown tried to manoeuvre him out of a job — was on The Andrew Marr Show just now, talking about the revised growth figures out this week.
There was a sense, justifiably, of a mental foot being stamped, or an underlying complaint of “It’s not fair!”. Darling talked about how the figures proved that the Labour government’s response to the financial crisis was right, and how the series of economic decisions it made ensured the recovery’s progress. A double-dip recession now looks less likely, though Darling was keen to warn of the damage the coalition’s policies will have.
Ultimately, the “tragedy for us” said Darling, was in the public not being able to see through the policies the Con-Libs had set in motion. But he insisted he was “still young”, much to Marr’s mirth, and that his retirement from front-bench politics would not signal the end of his career in the political sphere.
Click here to read an account of the NS editor Jason Cowley’s conversation with Darling last week.
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