That didn’t take long, did it?

Gordon Brown has only been Prime Minister for 289 days but already The Sun  is devoting its main commentary slot to handicapping the race to succeed him. George Pascoe-Watson lists nine contenders—Ed Balls, David Miliband, James Purnell, Andy Burnham, Alan Johnson, Harriet Harman, Jacqui Smith, Jon Cruddas and Charles Clarke—giving Balls and Purnell particularly favourable write-ups.

Now, you might say this is just one newspaper story on a quiet Thursday but it does show that the current chatter has broken out of the Westminster Village. If Labour takes a pasting on May 1st, then this chatter will only get louder and Brown’s authority will be diminished even further.