It's Harman

It looks like the last-minute betting was from those in the know. Harriet Harman is the new Labour Deputy Leader. This is not good news, her campaign centred on the fact that she was a woman, which while true is not a minority talent. Worse still, I sat opposite a former advisor of hers on a train to Bristol a few years ago. She noticed my Conservative Party cufflinks, a little sad I know, and we got to talking. She had joined up with Harriet before the 1997 election expecting to make the policy for a future Labour government, but what she found instead was spin and media management and she eventially quit in disgust. This is a good indication why when Labour won the election they wasted most of their first term in substituting the next day's headlines for sustainable public policy, but the point is that Ms. Harman was that sort of operator. Now she is a heartbeat from being our Prime Minister. Wonderful.