Darling in charge for August, but there’s Glasgow East to come first

Alistair Darling is going to take on the old John Prescott role from the end of next week, as duty minister for August.

When he was Blair's deputy PM, Prezza made the role his own, and usually kept the press entertained with gaffes, such as the famous 'Peter the Crab' photocall at the Millennium Dome where he could not resist naming the crab - an alien pest in the Thames - after Peter Mandelson.

Darling is telling friends that he thinks the Labour Party will "edge it" in the Glasgow East by-election on July 24, which should take the heat off what will otherwise be a tricky month for him and Gordon Brown. His announcement that the 2p increase in duty on petrol will not go ahead as planned in October may help ensure the dream comes true: the constituency has a high level of poverty and the soaring cost of motoring is an issue.

Certainly the Chancellor was chipper in spite of the economy crashing in flames around him when he hosted a summer party at the Treasury last night, surrounded by his ministers including Yvette Cooper. The party had a slightly surreal air as most of the conversation focused on when Darling was going on holiday, rather than the share crash splashed across the cover of the London Evening Standard. At least one Minister there came out with the astonishing theory that the answer lies in "doing nothing".

Fiddling while Rome burns may be one way of dealing with an economic crisis, but it will not endear Darling to the home-owners faced with soaring bills this autumn. Nor will it do much to shore up Brown's battered authority.

The PM girded his loins today for a final hurrah and bested Cameron at the last session of Prime Minister's Questions before the MPs pack their bags next Tuesday for the summer. Labour MPs played their part by giving the boss a roof-raising cheer, with calls of 'More'. But one of Brown's friends whispered to the Mole: "It won't go away. There are still some intent on causing trouble."

THE MOLE: SUMMER RECESS

FIRST POSTED JULY 16, 2008