Ignore the hype
Forget any putsch against Gordon Brown here in Manchester: the brothers and sisters attending the Labour party conference are not in a rebellious mood. Indeed, they seem rather reconciled to events: a poll suggests around 60% of Labour supporters don't think they can win the next election with Mr Brown as leader; but 52% don't want a leadership election.
So ignore all the hype about this being a "make-or-break speech for Gordon" or him having to give "the speech of his life". To be sure, if he bombs it will give the rebels a fillip; but it's likely to be neither a dud nor Martin Luther King - just more of the same old same old.
Labour is going through the motions of appearing to the outside world as a happy, united family but in private admits there will have to be a day of reckoning - but not here, indeed not before Parliament returns on 6th October and probably not until after the Glenrothes by-election (maybe on 6th November, when all eyes will be on the US election result). So Manchester resolves nothing and Labour's leadership crisis is set to rumble on through the autumn and into the winter.
The Brownites are arguing that last week's near financial meltdown means it's "now Gordon more than ever". But the real significance of the financial crisis will be its deleterious impact on the real economy in the weeks and months ahead and the effect that will have on Labour's already dismal election prospects.
Chancellor against a grim backdrop of collapsing house prices, rising home repossessions, unemployment heading towards 2m, a massive credit drought thanks to the financial turmoil and the prospect of government borrowing about to go through the roof, making a mockery of the Brown fiscal rules. No Chancellor has had such miserable mood music for a conference since in 1992.
Mr Darling will echo his master's new enthusiasm for greater global regulation of financial markets - but none of that will happen this side of a general election, if it ever happens at all. The unspoken words behind Mr Darling's Presbyterian demeanour are simple: things are going to get worse - perhaps a whole lot worse - before they get better.
We'll have live and uninterrupted coverage of the Darling speech plus reaction from Manchester and the City here on the Daily Politics, starting at the earlier time of 11.30am this morning on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ2.
We'll also be talking to two Labour cabinet ministers: Work and Pensions Secretary , whom some see as a future Labour leader, and Defence Secretary , whom nobody sees as a future Labour leader. We'll also hear from one of the leading Labour rebels, Frank Field, who led the rebellion over the 10p tax and is one of those MPs keen to send out nomination papers for a leadership contest.
Also: should there be a ? Unions are trying to force the issue today at the conference - many Labour MPs support the move but so far the Prime Minister has ruled it out. We want your views on that plus what Mr Darling should tell the City this morning and what Mr Brown should tell conference tomorrow.
Email us now at daily.politics@bbc.co.uk. And remember we're on from 11.30am til 1pm today on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ2 in a specially-extended edition of the Daily Politics to give full coverage of the Chancellor's speech.
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