THE Margin fully approved of the Daily Mirror's upstanding stance in sending back the leaked Budget documents to No 10 Downing Street and then, after a dull speech from the Hush Puppy Chancellor, trumpeting on the front page the next day that now everybody knew why they had returned it.

Ken decided to leave the unveiling of the 1p cut until the last minute, leading one commentator to compare his tactics to those of his beloved Nottingham Forest, which scored a breathtaking last-minute equaliser on Monday against Blackburn. Ken will have to score more regularly than Forest, though, if the Tories are to regain ground on Labour.