David Jones, MP

It would seem that Alistair Darling, sick of being kicked around by Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson, has decided to make his presence felt.

Only a month ago, it was confidently predicted that Darling would be given the chop, or at least demoted, after the Euro election, to make way for Brown’s Mini-me, Ed Balls; indeed, the Prime Minister was already referring to him in the past tense.   However, after the resignations of Hazel Blears and James Purnell, together with a gaggle of junior ministers, cabinet mathematics made it impossible for Darling to be moved.

Then, only three short days ago, Lord Mandelson loftily announced on the Today programme that Darling had “made the judgment” that there would be no comprehensive spending review until after the general election, which prompted Tory criticism that the Prime Minister was engaging in a “relaunch without a price tag”.

Now Darling has given an interview to the Independent in which he makes it clear that he has made no such judgment at all:

Mr Darling insists the uncertain economic position means he cannot decide now whether to go ahead with the scheduled comprehensive spending review (CSR). He will announce his decision in his pre-Budget report, due in November. “To do detailed allocations running up to 2013-14 at the moment, with all the uncertainty, just does not make any sense,” he says.

He promises that, one way or the other, Labour will make its spending priorities clear before the election, in an attempt to flush out the Tories. One option might be a mini-CSR. Another is to announce before the election which budgets would be ring-fenced, challenging the Tories to do the same.

Darling is becoming increasingly assertive in cabinet.  He pointedly refused to rule out spending cuts at a time when the Prime Minister was identifying “Tory cuts v. Labour investment” as the dividing line between the principal parties.  Now the PM has apparently decided to follow Darling’s line and has admitted that there will have to be cuts in public spending, even if Labour wins the next general election, which leaves him in the unfortunate position of having to find a new dividing line.  Game to Darling.

In taking on Mandelson,  Darling is playing a much more dangerous game.  Over the past few weeks, Mandelson has made it reasonably plain that he is effectively in charge; Brown has acknowledged his former adversary’s importance by massively increasing his departmental responsibilities, as well as conferring on him a panoply of ludicrously grandiose titles.

In his Indy interview, however, Darling has as good as told Mandelson to take a hike.  He knows that his position is secure, at least for the time being, so he can afford to do so.

The prospect of an escalating feud between Darling and the Lord High Panjandrum must be causing a significant degree of discomfort to Gordon Brown, but, given his present weakened position, there would appear to be little he can do about it, at least in the short term.