Will Ainswoth resign?

There has been a fresh outbreak of fraternal feeling in the Labour Party with claims that defence minister Bob Ainsworth may resign: Ainsworth

This would be a fresh blow to Gordon Brown, but hardly a fatal one. The one person who could make him go is Lord Mandelson who could not credibly be a candidate for the leadership, but although his support for the prime minister is lukewarm, he enjoys the post of deputy prime minister.

The so-called 'curry house' plot has, however, diminished Gordon Brown's authority. He is having to consult more widely and Alastair Darling has come out and said that there will have to be the harshest cuts in public spending for twenty years. In other words, the cuts auction between the parties is back on again, after the electorate seemed to be blink at what was required.

It's very easy to get voters to favour cuts in a poll, but it is a different matter when they face actual cuts. If Dave Cameron becomes prime minister, the greatest service he could perform would be to reduce electors' expectations of what government can reasonably be expected to do, in particular in terms of regulation.