Hoorah!

The Lords have amended the government's terror legislation to remove the extension of the time limit for detention without charge.

It comes to something when we have to depend on the unelected, elderly, white, posh males (majority speaking) to bring sense and justice back to the fore.

Hopefully the matter is now dead, and Gordon Brown won;t try to push his evil pet-project through with the Parliament Acts

Shocking Shuffle

So the Welsh Secretary job survives once again and Murphy doesn't join HTV's 17 employees on the dole. Whether Brown even considered amalgamating the Cabinet post for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland who knows, the stories have been around since time immemorial.

The big story from the Cabinet reshuffle though is the return of Peter Mandelson. Having entered government twice, and being sacked in disgrace twice, no-one predicted a return for Mandy. So what is Gordon thinking? Surely he can't believe that bringing back Mandelson would be a hit with the voters, and with his new minister's track record surely Gordon didn't pick him as a safe pair of hands.

I can only think of one plausible explanation for bringing back Peter Mandelson to the Cabinet. Gordon Brown wants to remind us that as much as we all hate him, there's someone we hate more!

By-Election Fears

We are closing in on the Crewe and Nantwich by-election where ex-Am Tamsin Dunwoody is standing for Labour in her late mother's seat. Polling indicate that Labour's 7,000 plus majority will be overturned by the Tories. Incredibly the Tories have not gained a seat in a by-election since Mitcham and Morden in 1983 - that's 25 whole years!

Thee have not won a previously Labour seat in a by-election since Ilford North in 1978 - a whole three decades ago!

I see more "worst week ever ever for Brown - honestly now" headlines on the horizon (copyright of the Daily Mail, Daily telegraph, Independent, Guardian, Daily Express, Sun, Mirror, Western Mail, Daily Post and the Tivy-Side Advertiser!)