Michael Gove tells the Daily Telegraph in an interview that he could not become Tory leader after David Cameron, that Liam Fox could, and that the party ought to make use of David Davis's talent.
"One of the things I have learnt from watching David is I just know I could never be leader. I don't have what it takes. No. Absolutely." At this point he bangs the table for effect, and then tips Liam Fox for the top job: "I have high regard for him."Harriet Harman tells the Sunday Times
"Men cannot be left to run things on their own," she explains. "I think it's a thoroughly bad thing to have a men-only leadership. In a country where women regard themselves as equal, they are not prepared to see men just running the show themselves."
And John Prescott at Go Fourth writes an open letter to Harman explaining why he thinks she's wrong, and why she should concentrate on campaigning for Labour.
I know you don't choose the headlines. But you did choose the words in the interview ... Quotes like this just raise leadership issues once again just at a time when we should all be pulling together and defending our record.Paul Hutcheon at the Herald
In another dig, [Canavan] said: "I could never understand why Donald was virtually canonised by his fan club. He was not an instinctive or inspirational leader and he often had to be persuaded on the merits of a patently good cause."
Mike Smithson at PoliticalBetting on why he thinks it's worth betting on Peter Mandelson to become prime minister by 2020.
Both Ladbrokes and William Hill have issued press releasea – the latter now making Mandelson 8/1 to be the next Labour leader. The Ladbrokes prices is a more comfortable 16/1. Ladbrokes say that for every pound at the moment they are taking on other contenders there's five pounds going on Mandelson. But the bet I really like is the 20/1 from William Hill that Mandelson will become prime minister before 2020.
Giles Edwards at the BBC writes about the work of election agents, the subject of a Radio 4 programme he produced.
This "golden age" had passed by the 1990s, when parties began to centralise their operations. Labour and the Conservatives both moved to strip agents of some of the autonomy they had enjoyed until that point. With a sharp drop in membership and income, felt the party bosses, they wanted to send their professional campaigners to the political hotspots, not leave them in safer territory.
