Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Jonathan Maitland profiles Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury in the coalition government and Liberal Democrat who will wield the axe as the UK enters a new age of austerity. Alexander emerged from a background in communications and a short career as a politician --he was first elected to a Highlands seat in 2005 --to become Treasury Chief Secretary. It is a post that many commentators say makes Danny Alexander the third most powerful man in government, after the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer and ahead of his own boss the Deputy Prime Minister. So how did a man whose last job outside of politics was to run communications for the Cairngorms National Park get so far so fast? And how will he fare once the cuts he is overseeing begin to take hold? Jonathan Maitland talks to his family, his friends and political commentators about the MP from Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey.