This isn't over until David Miliband offers clear support to Brown

Grumpy Old Man

Anyone else read about the last days of Stalin? It's terribly reminiscent of this lot.

Jeremy

It would be curious if something as insipid as Banana Boy actually precipitated The Fall of Broon. As Maggie once had occasion to remark..."It's a funny old world". But perhaps not all that funny. It might be that the critical hours are already behind us. I mean, if Banana Boy were to flounce out now - having issued his "working closely with PM" statement - it might look both insipid and treacherous. Not a good combination, that.... a bit like a nasty glass of water.

Banana ain't goin' t'be the leader of anythin'....that's my prediction.

David Boycott

Perhaps Newsnight feared making the Beeb's political editor look even more of an overpaid prat than he did this morning, if that's possible?

Kirsty Richards

That's the BBC for you, always keen to close down any dissent against Brown and the Government. If it was trouble on the Tory side however, well the BBC would go all out, wall to wall, encouraging dissent and humiliating the Conservatives. Earlier on BBC News 24 Barry Sherman called Jon Sopel out over this and expressed his anger that the BBC always shuts down debate about the leadership and without saying it virtually comes out for the Government. I thought he made some excellent points.

mitch

Spineless!!. So its oblivion for lab then and now its not just browns fault.

Yam Yam

In some ways, Newsnight's tame probing is a blessing in disguise. As Fraser Nelson has remarked elsewhere, finishing off Brown is a job for the voters at the coming election. And, boy oh boy, we can't wait!

JohnOfEnfield

What is peculiar about Paxman being "strangely unquestioning" in this particular instance?

He has no balls when dealing with Government Ministers and their lackies - he is not incisive in his questioning and will not stand up to their bullying. Newsnight has descended into being a platform for peddling outrageous ideas from New Labour fellow travellers such as Will Hutton who are given an armchair ride. They never discus the real issues only aspects of their particular ideology.

Bring on P D James!

Frank Leader

Given David Miliband's marxist upbringing he's the last one who should support G Brown. He's also the last person Labour should want as leader. Unless the rest of the manky mob are closet communists.

Nicholas

"Unless the rest of the manky mob are closet communists."

Thought that was already a given. Communists alright, but hardly in the closet. That was under Blair. With Brown they are out in the daylight.

Chuck Unsworth

I don't understand why you seem to believe that the Miliband should declare for or against. Surely he has the right to keep his views to himself? If he says nothing then that's all there is to it. I've always been slightly worried by the extremists who would wish to have everything so polarised.

Journalists often think that they have a right to answers to their (often poorly framed) questions. They don't.

That said, I still think he's an idiot.

General Zod

That Mandelson would freely say on Newsnight that he hadn't spoken to Brown says all we need to know.

Minnie Ovens

I thought the Paxman-Mandelson interview somewhat amusing.
The Dark Prince sitting there at ease not answering, at length, any of Paxman's questions with Paxman beconing more like a hyperactive bog brush every second.
A bit crudely put but this program seems to have been overtaken by blogs, and for a few, the Coffee House information.

JONNY

Interesting too that no senior Tory was called in by the Beeb to comment and cause a bit more mayhem.
If it had been a Tory debacle we'd probably have seen more of Labour spokesmen hoofing it up than the Tories trying to explain.

Tyranosaurus

If Nick Robinson is correct, that would be the third time that David Milliband has flirted with toppling Brown only to back down at the last minute - perhaps he's auditioning for the role of Duke of York.

PAUL GILBOY

Miliband needs to distance himself from the plot and Brown, stating he is committed to the leadership until the next election. Then the leadership will fall into his lap, he would be damaged by leading labour to a certain defeat as I am sure the dark lord knows.

Lawrence

Kick them all out. MPS and the Whitehall lot have no idea of the working mans hardships in life. They have cushy protected lifestyles, great pensions to look forward to and to see them all at Prime Ministers questions laughing and pointing at each other. Its all one big game to them. If you got a gift of the gab and can lie then become an MP. Work for the government, live off the state and screw the taxpayer.