A dull and bloodless PMQs was livened up as Meryl Streep was spotted in the gallery getting tips for her upcoming film about Thatcher. Number 10 apparently organised the ticket, though Guido isn’t sure why given what has emerged so far about its content. For some reason Streep apparently plays a sad Baroness, looking back at her life with regret. Guido’s heart is bleeding already. Personally he reckons they should have stuck with Oliver Stone’s plan of casting Sienna Miller in the role for his biopic…

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Despite the rise in unemployment and inflation the rise in misery has flattened out in Guido’s Misery Index, the reality-based antidote to Dave’s blue-sky happiness index. Given the budget deficit is still the biggest economic challenge the country faces today,  the GMI adds on the government’s deficit divided by the GDP taken from the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Retail Prices Index + Unemployment rate + ( Public Sector Net Cash Requirement / GDP ) = Misery Index

Plugging in the latest available figures for January 2010 gives you:

4.8% + 7.9% + (20.7 / 331.2 x 100)  = 17.77

After a brief suggestion that things were getting better, Britain seems stuck back in the blues…

N.B. Stats bods can check Guido’s adding up here

Andy Burnham seems to have let the cat of the bag about the reality of the Education Maintenance Allowance that looks set to be scrapped in the Commons today. On the BBC last night Reeta Chakrabarti put it to him that:

“…there is anecdotal evidence that sometimes EMA money isn’t just spent on books and transport but on clothes, nights out and even gym membership.”

In reply the Shadow Education Secretary let slip:

“Yes, they may spend some of it on food and even the occasional time out with friends…”

He went on to ask why some people should be able to have fun while others can’t. Perhaps Andy might like to explain why he thinks the government should be spending £500 million on taxpayer funded nights out on the town? Would he rather half a billion was cut from the schools’ budget to keep funding it?

Ben Brogan briefed by unknown Downing Street source that Coulson

“… is viewed as one of the three most successful occupants of that post, the other two being Bernard Ingham and Alastair Campbell. If you want a measure of the esteem in which he is held by Dave and his Team, it is to hear them elevate Mr Coulson to membership of a trio with the other two recent big beasts to hold that role. He is considered, frankly, irreplaceable, even if those around him must know that no one is. His departure, they fear, would be a crushing blow to the work of the government at a critical time.”

Guido was the first to report the rumour that Mandy is eyeing up some sort of role with Lazards and according to the FT the investment bank has not denied the speculation. Still one good turn deserves another – Lazards advised Kraft about their controversial buying of Cadbury, something the government didn’t block…

Guess who was the Business Secretary at the time…