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I have never warmed to James Purnell as a person when seeing him on television, nor am I impressed by his background as John Birt's consultant at the BBC in the 1990s - the sort of job I can't imagine anyone so young with so little experience of the world doing, yet thousands of twentysomethings do this every day - and helping to wreak morale-sapping havoc on an already beleaguered institution. He seems to recognise (whatever the unworldly Matthew d'Ancona thinks on his Spectator blog) that he is not the person to lead the Labour Party at the moment. The resignation of someone without an obvious base of either power or sympathy in the Labour Party is not having anything like a uniform effect, with at least one critic of Brown also attacking Purnell as a careerist. Gordon Brown is nevertheless damaged by this resignation, but it's not in itself a killer blow to his premiership; just another suggestion of encroaching chaos.
The new cabinet list reveals a couple of changes in precedence. Gordon Brown's cabinet lists have always placed Alistair Darling second until now, but the newly published list places him fourth. Harriet Harman gets the second place her position as deputy leader of the party customarily entitles her to, but coming in third is the sinister minister himself, Peter Mandelson, now not simply Business Secretary but also Lord President of the Council and First Secretary of State! So effectively Harriet and Peter are now Gordon's joint deputy prime ministers in all but name...
Good to see rail obsessive Andrew Adonis becoming transport secretary.
As for the old guard, Glenys Kinnock is made minister for Europe, presumably with a peerage (joining that select band of husbands and wives in the Lords); and Caroline Flint, who dropped hints all day yesterday that she would resign at 10pm last night, only to declare that she was not leaving the government and was supporting Gordon Brown, has been sacked.
With Ian Gibson leaving the Commons immediately, there will also be a by-election on the expenses issue in Norwich North, which could prove a useful safety valve, or could keep the whole story going for a few more months.
Good to see rail obsessive Andrew Adonis becoming transport secretary.
As for the old guard, Glenys Kinnock is made minister for Europe, presumably with a peerage (joining that select band of husbands and wives in the Lords); and Caroline Flint, who dropped hints all day yesterday that she would resign at 10pm last night, only to declare that she was not leaving the government and was supporting Gordon Brown, has been sacked.
With Ian Gibson leaving the Commons immediately, there will also be a by-election on the expenses issue in Norwich North, which could prove a useful safety valve, or could keep the whole story going for a few more months.
.