Labour should ditch doom and gloom message for one of economic renewal | Richard Partington

Before first conference speech by a Labour chancellor for 15 years, downbeat tune may have been overcooked

As the last Labour chancellor to address the party's annual conference, Alistair Darling had plenty to be downbeat about. This time 15 years ago, the global financial system was in meltdown, Britain was heading for its deepest recession since the second world war, and Labour was bracing for electoral defeat.

This year, after ending more than a decade in the political wilderness in July's election landslide, Rachel Reeves ought to be taking the conference stage in Liverpool on Monday with a spring in her step as Darling's first Labour successor.