Peter Mandelson is becoming increasingly irritated with the unions stranglehold on Labour Party candidate selection process. Funnily enough they keep turning up their nose up at his friends. He has been looking for a safe seat for one of them since 2007 and Downing Street are pushing hard for control of the race to succeed outgoing Labour MP (and Old Etonian) Mark Fisher.

Guido isn’t sure a name like the Hon. Tristram Hunt is going to go down with the Unite paymasters never mind the voters of Stoke-on-Trent…