Tony Blair, everywhere

To be honest, these Mandelson memoirs are already losing their lustre. I was planning to do a summary of this morning’s revelations, as yesterday – but swiftly lost the will. It’s not that this first draft of New Labour’s history is unappreciated, of course. But so much of it is just plain unsurprising: ministers thought Labour was cruising for an electoral kicking; Alistair Darling proposed a VAT hike; David Miliband was considering running for the leadership in 2008; and so on and so on. Sadly, it’s not quite enough to enliven this grey morning in Westminster.

One general observation does emerge from the latest extracts, though: the omnipresence of Tony Blair. Sure, it’s hardly shocking that the former PM should take a deep interest in Labour politics, but the texts between “Tony” and Mandelson still zap around with striking regularity. On David Miliband: “He’s not perfect, but he has matured.”