Like Kenneth Williams' Caesar in Carry on Cleo (the one British costume film WCH actually likes) the knives, it would appear, are out for poor old Shaun Woodward.

Promoted to the Cabinet in the summer for the now incongruous-sounding role of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, both Kevin Maguire in his New Statesman column and the Telegraph’s Rosa Prince both reckon the socialist MP for St.Helens South is toast in the next reshuffle.

Is it meant to be ironic? Have cyber hackers altered the text? Surely, to paraphrase the great John McEnroe, she cannot be serious?

 

To what and whom am I referring? Why the column on the ConservativeHome website from Tory parliamentary hopeful and sometime novelist, Louise Bagshawe, referring to her “hero-worship” (her phrase) of Margaret Thatcher.

It seems not a day can be allowed to go by without Cameroonite social consciences being rolled out as if to prove the Tin Man has found a heart.

The latest piece of not-so-subtle ‘brand repositioning’ will see Tory housing spokesman, Grant Schapps, take to the streets of London in a bid to ‘gain a better idea of what life is like for homeless people’, reports this morning’s Observer.

Oh dear. Charles Clarke, that veritable Vesuvius of former ministers has blown hot verbal lava all over the place in this morning’s Guardian. Again.

This time the big galloot claims backbenchers are “appalled” at Gordon Brown’s “British jobs for British workers” line; that Mark Malloch-Brown was a “foolish” appointment to the Government of all the Talents; and that Brown doesn’t support Ministerial colleagues enough ("Tony would always support his key people. Gordon should do that with his people").

Wow, is it really ten years since we last heard from that Thatcher-loving, platitude-spouting, talentless irritant? The Spice Girls I hear you cry? No silly, I am of course referring to Britain’s 50th Prime Minister, Sir John Major.

His appearance on this morning’s Andrew Marr show HERE served to remind us (in case we’d forgotten) what we’re missing: A weak and peevish little man with no discernable achievements from his six and a half years in the top job.

More muck-raking about divisions in the Government in the Telegraph HERE

Seems Blairite irregulars are gleefully briefing against GB with the piece even speculating, heaven forfend, that a New Labour/ Tory coalition might one day be upon us!

Now there’s no doubt that some Blairite nose joints are probably a bit out of whack with the passing of their boy. But flirting with Cameron on the rebound reaches Olympian heights of tastelessness.