This must be a first in post-war Labour politics, and possibly ever. There were certainly well-organised slates of candidates on every other occasion in which Labour went into Opposition - 1951-64; 1970-74 and 1979-1987 - with Bevanites, Gaitskellites, Tribunites, the Manifesto Group, the Campaign Group and so on, all clubbing together to get their people elected.

The lack of slates in 2010 may reflect the lack of any great ideological division in Labour's ranks these days.

Or it may reflect the fact that only 25 per cent of Labour MPs have ever been involved in a Shadow Cabinet election before (so Chris tells me - I've not checked it).

Slates and political parties are a natural consequence of most democratic elections, since it's a lot easier and effective for candidates to organise together than to campaign as individuals.

So it's hard to believe that slates won't re-emerge in Labour's annual Shadow Cabinet poll eventually, either this year or in future.

And no doubt amidst all the controversy over his tax status and over why he kept William Hague in the dark for 10 years, he may well be asking David Cameron: "Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64?"

In my blog on Wednesday, I suggested there seemed to be an air of Mr Darling being "demob happy" in the way he spoke on Tuesday. He knows he won't be chancellor after 6 May, whatever happens.

That set me thinking. With so many Labour MPs standing down, is it possible that Mr Darling, too, plans to step down as an MP, to take his place in the Lords, and some lucrative financial jobs in London or Edinburgh?

If so, the news would be a big blow to Labour's election campaign.

But there's an alternative, almost contradictory, scenario. Might Mr Darling be positioning himself to take over from Gordon Brown in the event of an election defeat? Not as a long term Labour leader, but in a caretaker role while the party sorts itself out, and waits for a young, strong, long-term prospect to emerge.

Mr Darling's reputation has certainly been enhanced during his three years as chancellor, and now, with just three words, he's managed to distance himself very effectively from the more unpleasant aspects of the Brown regime.

Unlikely? Yes. But I can tell you that the idea of Mr Darling as caretaker is certainly being contemplated by some of his friends.