Old rivalries exposed as Children’s Secretary pushes his point
Once again, Alistair Darling and Ed Balls seem to be at odds on spending.
It is especially big news as the Children's Secretary is the man Gordon Brown wanted to take over as chancellor last June. Balls and Darling have a history of rivalry and the former lost the summer battle over whether Labour should admit that cuts could not be avoided. The claim that Balls submitted such a large bid for extra spending over four years is dynamite, as it suggests he is reopening the old row just ahead of the last pre-Budget report before the election.
Allies of Balls deny the figures and insist he would not submit a spending bid before talking to the Chancellor. Which is a denial of sorts.
Such a long-term bid would properly be made for a Comprehensive Spending Review — which the Treasury says is not happening. Mr Balls's enemies say he is agitating for an early CSR and a bolder election strategy — several Labour MPs think the Government went too far when it embraced the need for cuts.
The middle ground, which Mr Darling has been pursuing, is to find savings now that can fund new spending promises. The dividing line in Labour is how much spending can be pushed up before the election. Mr Balls seems to have been outed as a pusher.
