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So, if you are committed to protecting the vulnerable in society, whose holiday reading do you trust? Tony Blair goes for worthy biographies of men who've ensured immortality for themselves on the political stage. Mr Brown apparently enjoys contemporary heavy weight thinkers, such as Noam Chomsky, the American radical, defender of the poor and scourge of corporate greed .

The Blair/Brown feud has, of course, been intensified by the appointment of Alan Milburn as master of ceremonies (and manifesto content) for the forthcoming election - a Blairite whom, unlike Blair, is allegedly prepared to take on Brown.


Milburn is wedded to the idea that the private sector and market competition delivers (not always true). He likes phrases such as "localism" and "active citizenship".

Brown better understands that social change must come through a revitalised public sector, a national child care strategy that is truly universal and an increased investment in early years. While he also recognises that future generations of women are unlikely to carry the burden of care and the state will have to do more.

But will the chancellor be impeded - and at what cost to those at the bottom of the social pyramid? In London, a hugely expensive city, deprivation is acute despite seven years of Brown-ite redistribution. One in four children lives in a household with no wage-earner.

Pensions too are a concern. The government, although notoriously timid about upsetting employers, is considering compelling companies to provide occupational pensions.


Last week, at its annual conference, the TUC called for the restoration of the link between state pensions and earnings and asked for special recognition of the position of women via an equality audit.

Less than 13 per cent of women are entitled to a full basic pension. By 2050, the full basic pension will, anyway, be worth only 7 per cent of earnings while those who have taken time out from paid work to care for children and dependents will be even further penalised. Female pensioners, on average, live on 57 per cent of a male pensioner's income.

A decent citizen's pension, unrelated to work, has appeal. So, who is more likely to come up with a workable fair solution to the pension crisis - Milburn or Brown?

That's why this latest political spat is more than a matter of vanity, egos and power. It could dictate the kind of society we become.