The New Leadership

I have to say I'm immensely pleased that Harriet Harman is to be the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party - my votes obviously made the difference!

On the other hand it now seems very unlikely that she will be Deputy Prime Minister - a job made unique and filled uniquely by John Prescott, who will also stand down on Wednesday. I think Harriet will be the real link to the Labour Party and will help Gordon Brown to get the kind of support from activists that might just about win Labour another term of office. Harriet's campaign was interesting - supporting the achievements of Blair government but admitting the failures - especially over Iraq. She might just about have convinced the hardcore Labour membership that things will get even better over the next couple of years - and without these people to pound the streets to get the vote out then we will end up with a Conservative government.

Gordon Brown needs to do one or two dramatic things in the next month - rather like the liberation of the Bank of England, to quickly stamp his individual mark on the country's consciousness.