Alistair Darling left clear blue water between his party and the Tories, says Rob Merrick

IT WAS less the last Budget speech of the Parliament – and more the first speech of the general election campaign, now just two weeks away.

And, what’s more, Labour MPs left the Commons chamber believing it might just be the hour-long oration to pull off a shock polling day comeback.

Before he got to his feet, Alistair Darling’s task was to somehow convince the City he has a plan to restore the nation’s battered finances, while also giving voters something worth walking to the ballot box for.

The omens were terrible. The Chancellor gave his own speech the advanced billing of “workmanlike” – scarcely a word to fire enthusiasm – while all his previous Budgets have sent Labour dipping in the polls.

But Labour MPs found themselves with plenty to cheer – the stamp duty hike for millionaires delivering a classic dividing line with a Tory party pledged to axe their inheritance tax.

Mr Darling’s tax-evasion deal with Belize may prove to be something or nothing, but, as a device to rouse the Labour troops – in fury over the “non-dom” Lord Ashcroft – it was a belter.