Idle gossip

Apparently. Following rumours that an East London branch of a very large manual workers' union was to go native and throw its weight behind Respect, a Labour Party apparatchik pointedly explained to a full-time official from said union that "We would rather have 30 seats go to the Tories than lose one to Respect." Do I believe this? Yes. New Labour are bricking it, as countless anecdotal reports from the East End make plain. A left-wing political breach in previously solid Labour areas will knock a fatal hole in the Blair project's already wobbly foundations.

In a similar vein, here's someone who names names reporting that Britain would be prepared to back the US in attacking Iran. He finds this "believable"; I don't, because whatever the government might like, the same problem as above crops up. New Labour has its hands tied by the spread of anti-war feeling. Of course, if anything moves after the general election; if, as expected, Labour's majority remains secure; if assorted anti-war candidates do not make any breakthroughs; the situation becomes more plausible. (This via Shot by Both Sides.)