Gordon Brown must relish Budget day. Every year it offers the chancellor the opportunity to present himself to the world as his admirers see him: chief executive to Tony Blair’s chairman and chief architect of the government’s policy programme. This year’s Budget on March 22 is unlikely to produce any big economic surprises. But it will be a moment of high political significance.
With every passing day, Mr Brown looks more the prime minister in waiting. Rival Labour leaders have thrown in the towel; Mr Brown is spreading his wings in speeches ranging across the entire landscape of national life. He is impatient to do battle with David Cameron, the new Conservative leader.
