And so it came to pass.
Labour ministers said that the Tories' victories in the local elections would ensure that they were scrutinised for what they do if they were in office. David Cameron, on tour in Crewe today was confronted by an eager member of the public who decided to impersonate Jeremy Paxman or was it Sharron Storer (she was the woman you may recall who confronted Tony Blair outside a hospital).
Again and again, three times in all, this man pressed Mr Cameron to say that he would bring back the 10p tax rate. Again and again Mr Cameron refused to do that, insisting that the people of Crewe and Nantwich should send the government a message with their votes in the forthcoming by-election.
Now, unlike Sharron Storer, this man was a supporter of the man he was cross-examining. Yet, in his own way, he illustrated the difficulties the Tories have in saying what they do rather than what they're against.
Does Gordon Brown really believe that a referendum on Scottish independence is a part of his recipe for electoral recovery? No. Why then did Labour's Scottish leader, Wendy Alexander, back the idea over the weekend? The answer is simple. Whilst Westminster politicians are obsessing about the fall-out of last week's elections, Scottish politicians are still obsessing about the fall-out of last year's elections which put the SNP's Alex Salmond in the position of Scotland's first minister.
Labour sees it being seen as the opponents of choice in Scotland. That is why Wendy Alexander now says that she favours a referendum on Scottish independence. It is not that she wants one soon or indeed that she hopes independence will ever come. What she fears is that the SNP will play the issue as long as possible trying to make it dominate Scottish politics at the expense of everyday voter concerns which Labour would like to hold the government to account on. That's why she said at the weekend "Our message to the first minister is enough of the huff, puff and bluff. Bring it on."
Alex Salmond's strategy has always been to "demonstrate our performance in government before the referendum question". What Wendy Alexander's decision illustrates is the gap between politics north of the border and politics south of the border - a consequence of devolution of course. What it also means is that a referendum on independence is much much more likely then it was before the weekend.
PS. If you'd like to read more about this, read my colleague Brian Taylor's blog.
