If telegraph newspaper reports are correct then Lord Mandelson is currently on the prowl for a seat to contest.  He’s thinking of turning his back on the House of Lords and aiming to enter the House of Commons.  Understandably, Mandy has been looking enviously at the beauty of our North West Durham constituency, and we Conservatives are looking forward to the challenge.

This week has been his big chance to ‘act PM’, yet he chose to treat the position with such contempt, that he’s been trying to head events from Corfu.  Yesterday Radio 4 was asking: can someone really respond to an emergency from a Corfu yacht?  All I can assure you is that the NHS doesn’t allow for any such excuses, and no medical emergency can be handled by an on-call doctor in Corfu...perhaps that's just as well.