John Wiseman, Labour PPC for Westmorland and Lonsdale has, writing on LabourHome, candidly admitted that he seems “to be in the middle of a nightmare at present… Everyone seems depressed where I am standing for parliament. Gordon has decided to take money away from his core vote, PPS’s are threatening to resign!! When are we going to wake up!!! There is hundreds of councillors who are going to lose their seats if Gordon doesn’t listen. I am asking please Gordon for the last time wake up and smell the coffee…”

He blames it squarely on the abolition of the 10p tax rate…

The ConservativeHomies have voted The Triumph of the Political Class their best book for 2007/08. Guido thinks they have made a good choice – the book is spot on. Peter Oborne anatomises a cross-party, parasitical ruling class. The class is personified in the next generation of most likely leaders of the major political parties; Clegg, Miliband and Cameron.

With views that are essentially interchangeably metropolitan liberal, all that differentiates them besides the colour of their rosettes is a bit of proportional representation, some income redistribution and a little Euro-scepticism. They are crowded ideologically onto that marginal – voter – friendly, focus-grouped, centre – ground. All went to Oxbridge, all had politico-media-wonkish mini-careers before climbing the political greasy pole.

If you have not read it already, Guido can’t recommend it enough…

Fascinating and sympathetic Guardian piece by Tom Clark about what it was like to deal with Brown and the Brownies at close quarters for four years. It confirms a lot of what we have already surmised about the core method of policy development through dithering.

Tom Clark was a SpAd at the DWP and the old DTI hired from the Institute for Fiscal Studies. He clearly admires Brown whilst recognising his faults. Faults that make him unsuitable to be PM. Well worth a read.