Iron Gordon vs the Global Financial Meltdown

Where does the PM’s thrilling new role leave his Chancellor, asks our Westminster insider

Gordon Brown has ordered his Cabinet ministers to 'hit the ground running' with a series of initiatives in the New Year to show his administration has not run out of ideas.

Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, is bringing forward a white paper on constitutional reform and cleaning up the honours system. This time, he will threaten to go ahead with getting rid of the remaining hereditary peers from the Lords, and moving to an 80 per cent elected second chamber - without a consensus if necessary.

Straw is also in charge of drafting a white paper on electoral reform, in an attempt to draw new Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg into the Brown embrace. Labour will not go 'all the way' with Clegg by offering full PR - proportional representation. The most Straw will offer is AV - an alternative vote system, and it is years down the line.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is working with James Purnell, the Culture Secretary, on 'radical' plans to tackle binge drinking and anti-social behaviour among young people. The measures will be aimed at stopping supermarkets selling cut-price booze to teens, but will not involve reversing the 24-hour drinking laws introduced by Tony Blair.

But Brown is saving the most important issues for himself - rescuing the global economy from instability. He has invited Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, to talks in London in the New Year about reforms to the financial institutions that he outlined at the recent Brussels summit.

He has carved out a role for himself as Iron Gordon versus the Global Financial Meltdown. It is a false picture but it has the advantage of making the younger, fitter and more telegenic Clegg and Cameron look like so much froth. The only question is: where does that leave Alistair Darling? Isn't he supposed to be Chancellor?