Brown not Blair to be May's fall guy ?

I thought the email to Labour suckers supporters was part of laying the ground for a potential campaign. My guess is so did Gordon Brown as he replied in kind only a few days latter.

Brown seems to have 'secured' Jack Straws loyalty - in a move to perhaps warn others not to enter the race.

Now Miliband's anonymous friends are setting Brown up to take the fall for the local and regional elections in May.

It won't be Blair taking a bullet for Brown by staying on, but taking him down with him. Brown - who might have thought May's elections would see off Blair may find they see him off too.

The quote in the DT is:

Friends of the Environment Secretary suggested that he had not completely ruled out throwing his hat into the ring.

But they said he would only do so if Labour went into freefall in the elections in England and polls for the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly.

That phrase has all the haul marks of Blairite spin ... Setting up in peoples minds how they should think about and react to things (the people princess etc) is a Blair signature manoeuvre.