REPORTS that Business Secretary Peter Mandelson is “exasperated” by Gordon Brown’s handling of the economic crisis are fuelling speculation that various Cabinet members are positioning themselves for a leadership election after the next election, with Harriet Harman fingered as the main culprit for alleged serial offences of going off-message. But who says he is exasperated or that: “He is quite right to say there is no value in trying to create a frenzy around these issues every day. Who can he be referring to, if not Gordon Brown?” Well, who indeed? But is Mandy happy for his Tory shadow, Ken Clarke, to act as spokesman for his inner thoughts? Anyway, Downing Street loyalists say there is no jockeying for position to replace Gordon Brown. That would imply that some ministers and their MP backers have decided that the next election is lost already. Perish the thought.
