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I know where all the bodies are buried
September 3, 2008
There is speculation that Alistair Darling could be removed during the forthcoming cabinet reshuffle.
The thinking is obvious. Arguments over tax policy, the timing of announcements, THAT interview in the Guardian, and so on.
But if the Chancellor is cut loose by his friend and political ally - and left angry and resentful - he could be hugely dangerous. He knows precisely which, if any, of the big mistakes of the last year (the 10p tax U-turn being the most obvious) emanated from the prime minister.
Geoffrey Howe, who spent the 1980s as Chancellor, foreign secretary and then deputy prime minister, was not a huge personality; he was satirised by Denis Healey as a “dead sheep”. But it was his critical speech from the backbenches, just days after resigning in November 1990, which ultimately toppled Margaret Thatcher.
Watching the Chancellor being interviewed by Nick Robinson of the BBC yesterday I noticed one throwaway comment. Darling said he had worked closely with 25 years with Gordon Brown and they had shared many private conversations, none of which he had ever repeated.
Better inside the tent than out?
