Oh, joy. It has all started. I’m in the BBC News studios, reviewing tomorrow’s papers – and there is plenty to savour. The Indy says Purnell has cut a deal with David Miliband not to stand. The FT has Jack Straw who is shocked – shocked – to find talk of mutiny. It emerges that “several Cabinet members and senior MPs privately urged Mr Straw to lead a coup against Brown in the autumn” but his “allies” say he loyally told them to “calm down”. The object of briefing this story, of course, is to get across the point that Straw is the man to whom people are looking. Take that, Milipede! First mover advantage to Jack the Lad.
The Times has a Com Res poll, giving the Tories a 22 per cent lead, and news that Brown has been given two months. Patrick Wintour, who has arguably the best Labour connections on Fleet Street, says “talks between Cabinet ministers took place on the phone yesterday”. He also reveals that “Straw is deeply concerned by the defeat in Glasgow” – attaboy, Jack!
Straw’s campaign team don’t seem to have called Andy Porter at the Telegraph but it doesn’t matter. He has the best Cabinet quote of all “we are not a one nation party anymore. We are a no nation party. We cannot win in Scotland, we cannot win in England and we cannot win in Wales.” Wonderful! With Cabinet members like this, who needs Richard Mottram?
Only The Sun has good news. ‘Cabinet ministers rallied behind Brown last night’ it claims on a small p1 write off. Even the Mirror couldn’t bring itself to claim the same, although it does have the best front page of the day. How to respond to the implosion of the Labour Party? By splashing on Carole Vorderman deciding to leave Countdown, with not a whiff of politics on page one on this momentous day. Classic.
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