Budget Week Part II: Clarke vs Mandelson

Evening all,

With the budget due to be announced tomorrow, the talk's about whether Darling's going to draw up a sensible budget, and get the backing of those in the City of London, or whether he's going to try and bring in tax cuts, which could help Labour gain some much-needed popularity.

"My budget brings all the press to the yard, and they're like, it's better than yours..."

The problem is, when it comes to economic policy these days, both Darling and his opposite number, George Osborne, can both be seen as slightly weak when it comes to personality. This is because Labour and the Conservatives have Business Secretaries that, if you didn't know it, could easily be mistaken as Chancellors: Peter Mandelson, and Ken Clarke. In the latter's case, it's forgivable: Clarke was Chancellor under the last Conservative Government, from 1993 until 1997.

The two of them, along with David Thurso (the Lib Dem spokesman for Business, Innovation and Skills), were on Newsnight, and you can see them being grilled by Paxman here. Incindentally, what is it about Lib Dem frontbenchers having awesome beards? Is it supposed to be a vote-getter or something?

"David Thurso (Bill Bailey Beard-Lovers Party)... 16,472 votes"

Anyway, I couldn't help but feel it would have been much better to have Darling, Osborne and Vince Cable having a debate so close to the budget: but with the exception of Cable, neither is known especially well by the public. Mandelson, of course, is hard to ignore: the man who was sacked twice under Blair, and the man who Brown supposedly despises yet had to bring back in 2008.

Which begs the question: whose budget is it, anyway? Is Darling being allowed to write his own version, or is it Mandelson holding the pen? The same question can be applied if the Conservatives get in: after all, Clarke can hardly be expected to not have any say on economic policy. He is a considerable political heavyweight, having been both Home Secretary and Chancellor under John Major, and an MP since 1970: Mandelson's influence on the Blair government, meanwhile, is well documented. It is a case of when an unstoppable spindoctor meets an immovable saxophonist (but alas, it's not Bill Clinton).

"Marvel at my invisible book, y'all"

So though it'll be Darling giving the budget tomorrow, you can bet that Mandelson will be the one doing the PR: and likewise Clarke for Osborne's response. When it comes to the Budget, these two will be in charge of engineering the response.

Last time these two clashed over an election, Mandelson's Labour Party thrashed Clarke's Conservative Party. If Clarke wins this round, he'll win on aggregate. And that will make revenge all the sweeter after his three failed attempts to become Tory leader.

One thing's for sure: it won't be the end of Mandelson. If he can come back after being sacked twice, he'll come back again.

Budget tomorrow. Will it be a Norman Lamont classic? Darling's certainly got the eyebrows for it...

Chris