The Spectator’s Notes | 3 June 2006

As a political scandal rolls on, people always seem to fasten on the wrong reason why the minister concerned should resign. It is surely good news that John Prescott and his team were playing croquet at Dorneywood on a Thursday afternoon. What has happened to our traditional admiration for finishing the game and beating the Spaniards too? Admittedly, Mr Prescott is not taking on any latter-day Spaniards, and his aides made everything worse by saying that their game was constantly broken into by mobile telephone calls, important emails and other rubbish. But the fact that he can be relatively out of mischief for an hour or two is to be applauded. Trouble only starts with John Prescott when he tries to do anything. He has no useful role in the constitution since, to adapt Bagehot’s famous distinction, he is neither dignified nor efficient; but if he has his uses in harmonising No.