Fings

So I miss a few hours posting and what happens? Ian Blair is forced out by Boris - and to think I had my doubts - and Mandy is brought back by Gordon Brown.

Of all the pieces I've read about the former, the most sensible is a post on CentreRight by Greg Hands:

I for one believe that there was no politics at all in Boris's desire to see change, and that complaints from Jacqui Smith and (God help us) Ken Livingstone simply show Labour's failure to realise that Boris really did win the election and that the London Mayor is the right democratically-accountable person to make the decision on who is in charge of the capital's policing.

More important than who is in charge, however, is how we change the Met's culture and philosophy of crime fighting. Do read the rest.

As for Mandy...

There are people seriously suggesting that this is a sign of renewed vigour on Brown's part. And their faces are straight. Do they really expect anyone to believe that Brown would have brought back Peter Mandelson had he been 10 per cent ahead in the polls and confident of an election success? This is a last - well, one of the last - throw of the dice by Brown; a sign not just of his political weakness - having to bring the Blairite of all Blairites on board to try to buy more time - but also of his realisation that leaving things as they were meant heading to defeat.

Brown is now prepared to gamble everything in order to stay in office. But why should anyone be surprised by that? His scorched earth borrowing made that clear long ago.

(BTW Jim Pickard has some choice quotes on the relationship between Brown and Mandelson.)