Talk about putting ideas into people’s heads. Alistair Darling on Wednesday urged Britons to replace their clapped-out old rustheaps with something new and shiny. He was talking about cars. But there were obvious parallels between his scrappage scheme, intended to help revive demand for new motors, and the junking that pollsters predict for New Labour.

The party used to be a nice little runner. But there are too many miles on its clock and it has jolted Britons over too many economic potholes. The electoral crusher is now hungry to cube Darling and Brown, products as dated as a beige Vauxhall Envoy, and recycle them as backbenchers.