McNulty for Chief Whip?  

The Sun reports today that Tony McNulty is the new favourite to replace Geoff Hoon as Chief Whip. George Pascoe-Watson reveals that Brown was told by a Minister that if he appointed Nick Brown to the job, “All hell would break. It would destroy any Cabinet unity and people would feel very uncomfortable.”

McNulty would be a savvy choice by Brown. As he showed during the 42 days debate he knows how to persuade Labour MPs to stay on side. He is a friendly and engaging presence on TV and is long overdue promotion to the Cabinet.

Brown’s reshuffle dilemma is that he needs to be bold to show that the government has changed but he’s too weak to risk alienating members of the Cabinet by sacking or demoting them. If the reshuffle is next Friday, it’ll gives us a good idea of how many risks Brown is prepared to take as he tries to get his premiership back on track.