Milburn’s return highlights the “big beast” conundrum

Alan Milburn’s return to Labour’s “senior team” is another arresting punctuation mark in Gordon Brown’s premiership.  Sure, he may not have been brought back into the Cabinet as Peter Mandelson was.  But his role as the head of a new commission looking into social mobility – which James commented upon earlier – shows that the Dear Leader is smiling down on yet another of his former enemies.  The party politics are clear: bridges are being built, and New Labour is reuniting for the sake of a (still unlikely) Fourth Term.

It also highlights the “big beast” conundrum that more or less all of the parties are facing at the moment.  The times call not only for experienced hands and actual government/opposition of all the available talents, but also for Obama-esque change.  Of course, acting on either of these calls could undermine a party’s ability to meet the other, and the strategists will be scratching their heads over what the right balance is.