Can Mandy win the race against time?
Will it be PMMP after the election?
Several papers, the Telegraph amongst them, carry reports of Mandy’s magazine interview in which he hints of his desire to return to the Commons as an MP.
Yet for that to happen he needs to ditch his life peerage and that requires a current law change move to get through parliament quickly enough so he can find a seat and stand at the election
It’s only then, of course, that he could be a challenger in the Labour leadership contest that everybody is suggesting will happen this year.
It seems a tall order but when it comes to communication and political skills he’s head and shoulders above the current incumbent and all the likely contenders. If Mandy is Barclays Premiership material then the Milibands, Johnson, Balls and Harman would not even make the Coca Cola Championship – the skills gap is that wide.
That was the reason, of course, why Brown brought him back from Brussels sixteen months ago.
Is it going to happen – him becoming an MP and the going for the top job? I don’t know. I backed him at 50/1 and also have a bizarre bet at 20/1 that he’ll be Prime Minister before the new decade it out.
The short-term problems look pretty challenging and I wouldn’t put money on at current prices.