The man with the joyless task of relaunching Tony Blair

Normally the leaves are still on the trees, full of their autumn glory in russet and brown, when Parliament rises ahead of the Queen’s Speech. Not this year. For reasons no one can quite explain, this session has stretched on towards winter. It has been marred by squabbling and drift. Wednesday night’s venomous rebellion over foundation hospitals was in keeping with the mood of the rest of the year, easily Tony Blair’s worst as Labour leader. He has started to create the impression that he does not know who he is or what he is doing in Downing Street. Even quite loyal ministers readily admit that the government has lost its way.

Tony Blair’s behaviour has taken on a strange, random turn. He has developed a mildly deranged interest in meddling with the patronage system. The new list of working peers for the Lords, being assembled with eye-catching incompetence, mildly obsesses him.