To raise VAT or not to raise VAT, that is the question

And the arguments seem to be within the Labour cabinet. Harriet Harman is reported to have said that the increase due for 1 Jan is "under review". Alistair Darling talking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show said it would "definitely" return to its original higher level of 17.5 per cent on 1 January.

Hmm "definitely"; when was the last time someone said "definitely" and then had to change their mind? Will the "definitely" stay definite as long as it did for Lord Malloch Brown?

So will Alistair Darling stick to his guns and behave like a "congenital idiot" or give in to pressure from above and show that he has the backbone one would expect from someone who has made the journey from being a supporter of the International Marxist Group, the British section of the Trotskyist Fourth International, to senior Labour party politician.