The Party is revolting

Don't try this in America! You have the wrong system...

The might of Tony Blair's once-feared spin machine was outmanoeuvred by a junior minister working from the back of his car during a family holiday in Scotland.

While Tony and his crew were busy jiggling potential quitting dates Tom Watson, a junior defence minister sent off his resignation letter via cell phone. Word is Tony was livid and threatening all sorts of calamities on young Tom. (I've no idea how old the junior minister is.)

So here is Tony, fresh from telling Gordon Brown what he can do with his threats, a shiny new ex-junior minister for a punching bag now, and feeling ready to take on George Bush single handed.

Except when the news broke at Westminster, about young Tom jumping ship, it provoked a stampede of disenchanted junior ministers (of all ages I guess.) Half a dozen jumped into the life-raft after Tom. Others less inclined to heroics simply went to the nearest media outlet to tell the world they thought Blair was a pompous arsehole.

Now headlines are still screaming Blair gone by June - or Brown says go by April. Tony isn't going to have a party to lead by next month the way he is going.

But all is not lost for him yet. What am I saying, he sacked Jack Straw and made him government leader of the house. That messes up one escape route, simply not calling parliament to session. I guess Jack won't play that game.

The only reason I'm putting this up tonight is because when i wake up tomorrow it might well be redundant.

We used to make jokes about 'the party is revolting', but rarely ever got to see it quite this dramatically.