Here again the party has tried to persuade us that the block vote has been consigned to

Here again the party has tried to persuade us that the block vote has been consigned to the cupboard It is thought, rightly, to be bad for business. Mr Brown has but to say the word, and various pieces of machinery will start whirring or, in these electronic times, showing green or red lights, as the case may be, and emitting strange noises.For – it is still not widely realised – New Labour does possess a mechanism for dislodging a prime minister. The mistake is to assume that the switch is concealed somewhere behind a curtain in the Strangers’ Bar, the Kremlin as it used to be called Not so True, the parliamentary party retains certain functions But these are limited to two. First, it possesses a nominating function: a candidate for the succession must be supported by 20 per cent or 12.5 per cent of Labour MPs, depending on whether there is a contested election or a vacancy to be filled And, second, the MPs have a part in the ensuing election. But it is only a part: in the electoral college, the Labour members have a third share only, as do the trade unions and the constituency parties.One of the most successful confidence tricks in politics is that the party is a convert to the principle of one member, one vote Not a bit of it. Harold Wilson was perpetually being menaced in 1967-70 – he certainly thought he was – but survived because the forces of opposition could not decide between Roy Jenkins and James Callaghan, and because the left of the party thought Wilson (whom they perversely continued to regard as one of their own) was preferable to any of the alternatives on offer.From one point of view, Mr Blair is in an even more comfortable position He has only one rival, Mr Gordon Brown. Mr Robin Cook, Mr Jack Straw and even Mr John Prescott may fancy their chances too.

But unfortunately, in the debased times in which we live, they are not pretty enough. Nor, probably, is the Old Bolshevik Dr John Reid, who has, however, clearly decided that the best way to pomp and power is to jump up and down waving his arms in the air and pledging eternal devotion to the Prime Minister.But we must be careful about succumbing too easily to what might be called the television test. Towards the beginning of the young war criminal’s first term, party headquarters decided to emphasise the charms of Ms Harriet Harman and Ms Patricia Hewitt; perhaps one or two others as well. Imagine the surprise of the apparatchiks – and possibly of Ms Hewitt and Ms Harman also – to discover from polls, focus groups or whatnot that, so far from being universally admired, they were regarded as being altogether too pleased with themselves, a sentiment that was particularly prevalent among women voters.It may be that Mr Brown is looked upon in this way too. But if, from one point of view, Mr Blair is lucky to have only one rival, from another it is not so convenient.

My first foray into the world of the internet auction was with a stylish set of white 1970s Samsonite luggage printed with daisies. As bids top £100, I had to stop splurging my profit on a set of shocking pink cases I noticed in one of my e-trawls yesterday.Now I’m officially hooked, an eBay veteran. Like many of you, I have accumulated so much junk I’m paying an exorbitant sum each month to rent a storage unit. Can he reconnect with us again? I hope so, because if he doesn’t rise to the challenge and start acting sincerely, then Labour has lost the next election.My work of late has been interrupted at regular intervals while I log on to eBay – I’ve become just as addicted to selling stuff as I once was to collecting it. I cannot imagine him having a “big conversation” with anyone other than another policy wonk, and then it would be about financial mechanisms and exchange rates rather than parenting or hospitals.Does Gordon watch TV, read novels, go to the cinema or the pub? Is it too late to hope that Blair could take a reality pill which would cause the scales to drop from his eyes, the rose tinted aura he moves in to fade and he could somehow return to planet earth? Blair was tremendously attractive and persuasive when first elected, but then he became an actor mouthing lines written by PRs and spin-doctors. Suddenly it’s no longer “if” but “when” our morose, uptight, uncommunicative Chancellor will become the next prime minister. But these demeaning images were published around the world.An American woman soldier is photographed leading a naked and injured Iraqi man on a dog leash.