..Or will the pro-Iraq war Meacher be the left’s standard bearer?

The question of whether Brown will get his coronation or face a left-wing challenge is still in the air tonight after the pro-Iraq war Michael Meacher and John McDonnell, who opposed it, announced that they had delayed until Monday a decision over which one of them will run.

The plan is that the candidate with the most backing will go forward to see if he can get the 45 nominations that are required.

According to a BBC report they said that the level of support for each was “too close to call” and more “clarification” was needed which sounds as if they had a row over the names each was claiming.

The two claimed that they jointly have the backing of enough MPs to force Brown into a contest.

On the Spreadfair market you can get what is effectively evens on McDonnell getting the nominations and finishing second to Brown. The current price is 5. I got on him a couple of weeks ago at 1.8 in the 0-10-25 market so if he is the only challengerI do very nicely. This means I lose 1.8 my stake level if he does not stand but get (10 – 1.8) * stake level if he does stand and ends up as runner-up.

Mike Smithson