Ruth Kelly abandons ship

So Ruth Kelly’s last act as Transport Secretary was to deny Gordon Brown the privilege of sacking her. Word of the reshuffle leaked last night – Geoff Hoon out and to succeed Mandy as European Commissioner (not a straight switch, Mandy’s there till Jun09). Des Browne to stay in Defence but (finally) cede Scotland to Paul Murphy who combines it with Northern Ireland and Wales. Liam Byrne to the Cabinet. Unusually, some of the above had confirmation of these moves, so doubtless word reached Kelly that she’s offski. So when journalists started making inquiries, rather than saying “I serve at the pleasure” she said she was offski. I’ve always quite liked her – something about the way the Labour feminists despise her because she has no interest in their agenda. Nor has she voted against her conscience on the right to life. She’ll likely lose her seat in the next election, and I’ve known for some time that she’s heading for an exit.