I’ll join the chorus of approval for Chancellor Alistair Darling’s decision to increase tax allowances for basic rate taxpayers. I suppose the Mrs and I should declare an interest (or rather 240 of them). But I do genuinely think that this is good news for low and middle income Britain. It is also progressive and even (mildly) redistributive in a gentle “don’t scare the horses” New Labour way.

I don’t think that there has been any conversion on the road to Damascus, but the government has been given a bloody nose by normally loyal backbench MPs not the “usual suspects”. What does this mean? Gordon Brown is not stupid. I think he will take account of his backbench MPs and realise a mistake was made over the abolition of the 10p rate and learn from it.

I've reported that the BBC misunderstand and misreported Alistair Darling's commons answer on Northern Rock nationalisation, and had to make an apology of sorts on Today. It now turns out a Tory press release with this truncated Hansard quote was issued 2.5 hours before Nick Robinson used a similar quote on Sunday night on Radio 5. The following morning Today ran with it heavily as well, as did The Daily Politics. Could Nick Robinson have followed the Tory press release without proper independent research?

The BBC is claiming on Nick Robinson's blog, Today and The Daily Politics that back in November Alistair Darling agreed in the commons with Jim Cousins that the nationalisation of Northern Rock would bring terrible effects. Jim Cousins made a complex two part question, and I think the BBC has misunderstood Darling's two part answer. Listen to the question - what do you think?

Goldman Sachs has recommended that it was not in the taxpayers' interests for Northern Rock to be sold now.  Legislation will be introduced tomorrow to acquire the bank's shares and assets for "a period of temporary public ownership". Alistair Darling's statement appears to say the legislation will be a general power for twelve months to acquire institutions "in certain tightly defined circumstances", so is not limited to Northern Rock.

While I think that the chancellor Alistair Darling is still potentially in serious trouble over Northern Rock (ignoring the lost computer discs with their 25 million names for the moment) I think that unless the housing market goes completely belly up (and if so, God help all of us) he should be okay. I have only met him once, about 20 years ago in Edinburgh, when he was my local MP and a completely revolting manager was trying to sack me (story of my life - I was a T&G steward at the time).

The Pre Budget Report is the worst example I have ever seen of the opposition setting the agenda. If this continues voters will soon get sick of such opportunism and vote for the real thing which will mean a Tory Government.

I have been thinking about what makes a good chancellor and actually looking back I think it's something to do with eyebrows.