It's a little red book – but don't get Labour wrong. Their new manifesto (pdf) is not some dramatic return to the hard left. Instead it reads like a renewal of vows by Labour's principal two partners. It's as if Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have come through a bruising period in their relationship and now want to present a document that shows they are determined to stay together - if only for the sake of the government they have raised and nurtured.
Thus, Gordon gets his goals recognised – with Labour committing itself to entrench a "progressive consensus" - while Tony gets what he wants, a programme that is still unremittingly New Labour, with no let-up, for example, in the "choice" agenda in the public services.
In other words, Brownites are happy that Labour is promising to use this election to embed its values into the "DNA of the country", as one minister put it to me – making Labour's approach as irreversible as the Attlee or Thatcher settlements of the past. That will mean substantial investment in the public services. But Blairites are glad that Labour is still promising to diversify provision – involving what is now euphemistically called the "independent sector" - in services like health. As in the best marriage reconciliations, both sides feel their needs are being respected.
Still, with few truly headline-grabbing promises the biggest impact of today's launch may not be the content, but the image. Blair pointedly shared the stage with his cabinet colleagues – providing a contrast with a lone Michael Howard at Tory HQ a few moments later. That counts as a telling recognition by Blair that he is no longer the unalloyed electoral asset he once was – and that he suspects voters have had enough of his presidential style. Most obvious proof? For the first time since 1997 something was missing from the cover of the Labour manifesto – a picture of Tony Blair.
