"I AM GLOOMY"

...announced Ken Clarke on Andrew Marr's show today.

He said it was due to deepening recession, but I suspect it may be that, as Nick Clegg put it, “he has been bound and gagged by David Cameron and George Osborne.”

Those Tory boys. Up to their old tricks again.

What the Notts MP had to say about the recession – that 2009 will be terrible and Brown had tried everything, failed and wasted a tanker load of cash along the way – was interesting.

But more fascinating from a political viewpoint was his very presence on Marr.

Here was a shadow business secretary in his first week doing the shadow chancellor’s job.

He questioned economic policy, put forward alternatives and even framed overall Tory strategy on allowing Labour banking proposals through the Commons – could you have imagined Alan Duncan doing that?

Clarke repeatedly referred to “David, George and I” – the title to a future documentary on him perhaps – leaving no doubt the member for Rushcliffe sees himself at the centre of the Tory team.

Speaking about sleaze he neatly swiped at Mandelson and on the Tories coming to power used the word “when” not “if” – something Cameron hasn’t been so brazen to do.

With Clarke in there the Tories definitely feel more like a Government. I just wonder what tricks the Dark Prince has up his sleeves.