Blogging has been light of late; I have been moving house (yes, we have bought, and no, we’re not clinically insane. In fact if you're a first-time buyer it's not a bad time to move).
MPs are back at Westminster today (some of them might want to move home too after all these revelations). The plan to detain terror suspects without charge for 42 days is the main issue under debate; Jacqui Smith is going to try to win over sceptical Labour MPs at the PLP meeting tonight.
Gordon Brown ducked a question at a press conference this morning about whether the vote would be a matter of confidence in his administration; his one-time lieutenant reckons not.
David Cameron may take a different view; as leader of the opposition, he can table a motion of no confidence in Mr Brown if he chooses. Would the Tory leader go for it? He could argue that it’s a matter of principle and there should therefore be a confidence vote (while keeping up the pressure on the Prime Minister). But Mr Brown would doubtless win a confidence vote; it could even strengthen him a little.
If I were Mr Cameron I would calculate that the threat of a confidence vote hanging in the air for two years would be a more effective weapon than actually forcing one now.
If he does win the vote, it'll be the Democratic Unionists that save Mr Brown’s skin. These canny operators know how to get concessions from a struggling Downing Street, so they probably won’t be too pleased to be reading this. And this Labour MP isn't shifting sides.
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