Those split stories just won't go away...

Alan Lawson

Well, no use crying over split milk, as they say.

This is the sort of story we need coming up to Christmas - truly heartwarming stuff!

Blofeld's Cat

spilt? split?

Vulture

One story could be made up, but two or three means that Mandelslime has been putting it about - a supposition absolutely confirmed by his 'complete tosh' denial.

Truth is that Mandy is an essentially destructive person - bored by Ministerial office, no sooner was he back from Brussels to Whitehall than he was itching to be off to the EU fleshpots again.

This Queeny little squeal of dismay is his way of getting El Gordo to notice him again, but the sad fact is that Mandelslime has served his purpose in buying Bruin the time to stay in place until the GE. Too late to lose him now.

Although he unconvincingly claims to have changed his mind, John Hutton had it right:
Bruin as PM has proved to be a 'F*****g disaster'. Mandy knew ( and knows) that too.

R King

Oh surely the headline should read "SPLIT"?

Walsingham's Ghost

Of course Madelson feels 'disposed of' - Brown is now (in his own mind at least)in the ascendancy with the Tories' poll lead slipping and grumbling about the lack of attack from Cameron growing ever louder.

It will be interesting to see how keen Mandelson is to leap to Brown's defence when the Tories begin to surge once more.

Perhaps that London Mayoralty post has begun to look more attractive to Mandelson after all...

WG

Pete Hoskin

R King: thanks for the spot - I didn't have enough caffeine in my system! Fixed now.

Kevyn Bodman

For Heavens sake, these are middle-aged men holding very important jobs.
Why are they talking like emotionally anguished teenage girls?

charles hercock

This is excellent news-without the "nose" of Mandy GB is lost-We will win this time

Austin Barry

These re-marriages always end in divorce, the aggrieved party, usually the wife, flouncing off in a flurry of talcum powder and vituperation. So seems to be the case here.

No doubt Mandy will spend Christmas plotting with the Blairite rump and Gordon will contemplate defenestration as he glares at the fairy on top of his Christmas tree. The days when Mandy and Gordon enjoyed pulling each others crackers over Yuletide have long since gone.

The next few months should provide much needed entertainment of the schadenfreude variety for all but the Labour Party.

JohnPage

Much more interesting is Sue's substantive story, which sadly rings oh so true.

tonyp17

I guess your strap line was meant to read 'split stories'.

charles hercock

Tosh is what we will get withot Mandy's guiding hand.We will win this time

Cuffleyburgers

We all know that Mandelson on came back, at the behest of his EUromasters, to shore Brown up while they ratified Lisbon.

No surprises then that he is distancing himself now from the train crash of the impending Labour electoral armagheddon.

Pondlife. All of them.

Cuffleyburgers

We all know that Mandelson on came back, at the behest of his EUromasters, to shore Brown up while they ratified Lisbon.

There can be no doubt these tear-stained sobstories originate from Mandelson Towers, as part of an exercise to distance himself now from the train crash of the impending Labour electoral armagheddon.

ANd meanwhile Britannia weeps as she is raped by them. Pondlife. All of them.

Cuffleyburgers

We all know that Mandelson on came back, at the behest of his EUromasters, to shore Brown up while they ratified Lisbon.

There can be no doubt these tear-stained sobstories originate from Mandelson Towers, as part of an exercise to distance himself now from the train crash of the impending Labour electoral armagheddon.

ANd meanwhile Britannia weeps as she is raped by them. Pondlife. All of them.

PAUL GILBOY

David Miliband is never going to challenge before the election, Labour will see him as the future and, won't risk a certain defeat under him.
Mandelson and Brown will be arguing over the date of the election.
Mr Brown will want to hang on, whilst Mandelson will know that going early, limits the damage, gives Labour time to regroup and try to consolidate as much as they can.
Whilst any talk of Mandelson wanting the premiership is pure nonsense as he stepped aside, as a much younger man to let Tony Blair claim the crown.
To be overtaken by covetness and hubris now would be totally out of character.

JohnAnt

Has there been a spilt between these two Cnuts? I'd no idea.
Next.

Dennis Churchill

We can only hope that the electorate associate Mandelson,Millibrand(s) etc with the Labour party so their core vote haemorrhages away rather than just drifts.
While the number of social workers, teachers and Human Rights lawyers has increased, during Labour’s term in office, they still don’t have the numbers to replace the former groups who voted Labour.

The Oncoming Storm

I don't rate Bananaman's chances very highly, especially if Labour goes down to a very heavy defeat next year as it will be his natural Blairite allies who would perish in the onslaught leaving a very heavily Old Labour PLP drawn from the heartlands.

In addition the rank and file will see him as the man who had 3 chances to challenge Brown and possibly prevent the defeat but chickened out every time. They will not forgive him for that.

Rhoda Klapp

Mandy has apparently turned down one offer from elsehwere. He will not be joining the Obama administration. It seems he wouldn't give up the Brown circle for the Oval orifice.

HK

Mandelson can't be happy to see people saying that he's being betrayed by Gordon Brown.

What will that do for his reputation? HE'S supposed to be the treacherous one, not that "moral compass" son-of-the-manse. What has the world come to?

Alan Phillips

Why do the Tory Party behave as the pre-cappello England football team?

They spend all day tinkering around looking to counter-act against their opposition and evidently get it wrong, grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory.

Cam and co need to get a grip. Ditch the weak-links and let the opposition do the worrying. The need to grow a spine and tell the Labour Party to beat us on X,Y and Z and lead the debate. The party has to take risks, they need to spell out the changes and the whys to go with them. Tell the country why sticking with Labour won't work and that they really have two choices, more of the same, or a fresh policies and approach to difficult times ahead.

I'd love to say that they've sold me the deal, but they haven't. As my name suggests, I'm not the one they have to convince, yet I'm not not sold on the vision thus far...

Its Brown who is known for dithering, yet I've heard little in the policies I'm going to be voting for. All I can offer is that the Conservatives aren't Brown's Labour.

IHT is a prime example, Brown and co call it the millionaires rebate, it isn't, yet I've not heard anybody turn and tell the left, that they are patently wrong and unless anybody is fortunately to be left more than £1M, then these funds remain property of the recipient, not the exchequer.

Spell your idea's out clearly Dave, or your good intentions will remain unfulfilled.

Boudicca

It struck me that Mandelson's announcement this morning about decreases in university funding might be him trying to distance himself from Brown and also an attempt to reassure the markets that Labour really does have a plan to cut spending post-election.

The reports are that Mandelson wanted the PBR to focus more on getting spending under control and Brown vetoed it. This might be Mandelson going against Brown's wishes and cutting spending from within his own Department to show the Great Moron that he, Mandelson, can push his own agenda. One thing's for certain, Gordon wouldn't dare sack him.

Naomi Muse

Diane Abbot had it right one night about three weeks ago on Andrew Neil's politics show when she said that Mandleson supports Gordon the way a rope supports a hanging man...

Frank Leader

Good let them split asunder. Bad for Labour, Good for Britain.