Brown in dark over election
We know that the relationship between the prime minister and chancellor Gordon Brown is a bit frosty, but TS would have thought that Tony would at least have been kind enough to let him know about the upcoming election. We only ask because Gordon seemed a bit confused at last week’s sitting of the Treasury select committee about when it was going to be.
Of course, everyone else knows the election will happen in May: Blair will dissolve parliament in early April, leaving the way clear for a 5 May election. But when pushed by Tory MP Michael Fallon on whether future rises in spending would be funded by increases to tax or NI, Gordon, after some vacillation, replied: ‘The policy on tax rates will be in our election manifesto.’ Good to know. And when will that be? ‘There may be an election this year or next,’ he said with a wink.