Who will put the Gvt out of their misery?

If I were a better person, I might feel a little more sympathy for some of our Labour MPs. The last fortnight has damaged, in no particular order, Tony McNulty, anyone related to Jacqui Smith, Harry Cohen, Dawn Butler and some of the other London MPs, Nigel Griffiths and now 5 other MPs who think they might recognise that brunette who was so forgettable that the Rt Hon Member for Edinburgh South needed to take some photos to remember Remembrance Day.

I’m not a better person, and the furthest I’m prepared to go in sympathy is to ponder the following:

If the election really is next Spring/Summer, can Labour actually handle having more weeks like the last one? Does any party have the mental fortitude to endure more and worse revelations about ‘private’ conduct and sleaze? Is staying in Government one more year really worth the damage to personal reputation that is likely to hit dozens more MPs until they give up power?

The Labour line has been that things might be better by next year. In reality, I think it more likely that the Conservatives’ 13-point lead becomes 20-points than that it shrinks to just 6 points. Things could get much, much worse – and the price of staying on is likely to be brutal, unless we think that revelations of sleaze are now exhausted.

If the Labour Government was a living creature, we’d be talking about a mercy killing. If they want to avoid the most unbearable year of their lives, I’d suggest that a lot of Labour MPs might want to start lobbying for a mercy election.

Morus