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There will be small immediate financial gains for some but Mr Brown is not seeking headlines about a pre-election give-away

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There will be small immediate financial gains for some, but Mr Brown is not seeking headlines about a pre-election give-away.Nervy Labour MPs are hoping that the parallel with the 1980s is precise and the forthcoming election will be the equivalent of the Conservatives' triumph in 1987. I read that the Chancellor is rubbing his hands with glee at the current state of affairs in which some are urging him to come to the rescue This is not the case. He is still frustrated, knowing that if he campaigns for a day it is a news story and if he is busy elsewhere and does not campaign, that is a news story too. Nor is it clear how he can come to the rescue when others run the campaign.

There are not many laughs in being a leader-in-waiting.In terms of the Budget, Mr Brown has calculated that it is in the interests of the economy and a big election victory for him once more to be prudent with a purpose. They were capable of getting into a neurotic state when they were 25 points ahead in the polls. I would be very surprised if Mr Milburn reads bleak surveys and exclaims: "Excellent news: another bad poll!"This is why the Budget is an event of considerable political importance; a matter of bulky substance rather than more pre-match analysis of the previous analysis. Yet it was only two years ago that Mr Milburn was praised for leaving the Cabinet to spend more time with his family. Mr Milburn has metamorphosed from a man in touch with his feminine side to a backward-looking male without very much happening in between.Indeed there is a strong argument that Mr Milburn is not being tough enough.

When a couple of polls showed the Conservatives narrowing Labour's lead he affected considerable delight: "This shows our voters there is a contest!" The logical conclusion to such an approach is Mr Milburn expressing enthusiasm if the Conservatives win the general election: "Now our supporters know for sure that we are in a contest." I do not believe Labour's strategists are entirely relaxed by such polls. I have some sympathy for Mr Milburn, who is now known for some reason as Mr Machismo. If Mr Milburn were to tip-toe into a press conference dressed as a ballet dancer he would be dismissed as an unruly northerner. So far the contest has been the equivalent of watching Match of the Day without any football being played. Why let the football get in the way when we can be entertained by interviews with various managers and analysts about whether they are deploying the right tactics? The political match of the day takes the form of analysis over whether Labour's campaign is being run by the wrong people in the wrong way and assessments as to why the Conservatives' approach is supposedly successful.

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