Oaten quits - now will he back Huhne?

Mark Oaten has quit the Lib Dem leadership race after an apparent botched attempt to win Charles Kennedy's endorsement.

This leaves Chris Huhne as the only candidate with any credentials either as a moderniser or an economic liberal.

Will Oaten back him though? If ideological closeness has anything to do with it, he surely will, but this contest has always had more to do with personal rivalry than ideology.

If the old adage about "young cardinals electing old Popes," holds true, expect to see him joining Ming Campbell's campaign in the near future.

Jan 23 update: Apparently I was right about him not backing Huhne but wrong about him backing Ming - he was in fact planning to back Simon Hughes. I doubt if Hughes will want his support now though....

Neil solves Asian babe mystery

This image of Andrew Neil canoodling an "Asian babe" has become one of the most famous in British journalism. Neil has now spoken out for the first time about the picture and revealed that the lady in question was in fact an American-born make-up artist. You can read the full interview in this week's Press Gazette.

English Question back on the agenda

Gordon Brown's recent speech on Britishness demonstrates his determination to put the constitutional reform agenda firmly at the heart of a fourth term Labour Government.

It has generated predictable cynicism about his motives - for instance this leader in the Daily Telegraph.

Others can't forgive Brown for being a Scottish MP who continues to have a say over English affairs - as witness this lively discussion on the Campaign for an English Parliament newsblog.

For my part, I reckon Brown is sincere in regarding the current half-baked constitutional settlement as a mess and in wanting to do something about it.

Either way, what is certain is that the English devolution issue is now here to stay.

In the longer-term, the only question is who is going to be first to back an English Parliament - Brown, David Cameron - or the new Lib Dem leader?

Odds slashed on "Chris Who?"

In the 48 hours since Chris Huhne was tipped by this blog (and the Daily Telegraph) as the next Lib Dem leader, his odds have come in from 300-1 to 6-1, according to the Political Betting site.

I'm not a betting man myself, so I didn't take advantage - but it's good to see Chris emerge as a genuine contender.

Ming Campbell's interview in today's Grauniad was interesting in that he is clearly tacking to the left to counter the Simon Hughes threat, but Chris Huhne doesn't really need to play this self-defeating left-right game.

As someone with strong social justice and environmental credentials as well as economic credibility I genuinely feel he could be the man to pull this divided party together. Here's a link to his campaign website.

Daisy, Daisy....

Readers of this blog will know I was not best impressed by the behaviour of ITN's Daisy McAndrew in revealing the drink problems of her former employer, Charles Kennedy.

Now some wags are suggesting she owes the BBC's Jeremy Paxman an apology too.

Back in 2002, Paxman came under fire for asking Mr Kennedy some pointed questions about his drinking habits, including whether he had ever drunk a bottle of whisky on his own late at night.

Among his sternest critics was the then Daisy Sampson, who at that time had only recently given up being Mr Kennedy's Press Secretary. She said:

"I do think he went too far. I think his questions were insulting. You couldn't do that job for two years. Sixteen thousand miles in an election campaign if you were drunk all the time. It just couldn't be done."

Keen students of hypocrisy can find much more on Daisy from the peerless Iain Dale's Diary and arch conspiracy theorist Guido Fawkes.

Will Chris Huhne run?

Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Chris Huhne has confirmed he is considering a bid for the party leadership, a story first revealed by my old mate Brendan Carlin in today's Telegraph .

I hope he goes for it. Amid all this talk of "economic liberals" on the right and "social liberals" on the left, Chris is someone who could unite both wings. Watch this space!