Tell them Mandy is back

"Tell them what you're going to tell them. Tell them. Then tell them what you've told them" That is the received wisdom on how to give a talk on something. The same, it seems, might be said of the 'newest' member of Brown's cabinet. Having departed under a cloud twice he is now back again. According to the BBC he consulted Tony Blair before accepting a job in Gordon Brown's cabinet. Makes you wonder what he was getting instructions about … So then, is it good he's back again? One cannot deny he has done a pretty good job in Europe and that experience — on top of his past here in the UK — should stand him in good stead. Not that I believe Labour will survive this anyway. Only this morning I watched a discussion on BBC News where the (independent) commentator was saying how often Vince Cable had got things exactly right over the last two years. Isn't it such a shame he isn't given the power to actually change things and Make it Happen …