Splits rock New Labour

In a move that has split New Labour from top to bottom, Health Secretary, Alan Milburn has suggested in the Times, that if the government doesn't get its act together the Tories could actually win the next election. Commenting on the story, senior analyst, Stephen Pollard said: "The piece was astonishing not simply for its policy implications, which are in themselves enormous. It was also a not-even-thinly-veiled attack on Gordon Brown, and pinpointed the real battle lines within the government -- that between the "transformers" (of whom Mr. Milburn is a leading example) and the "consolidators" (who are led by Mr. Brown)."

The news that the Cabinet is split down the middle in the war over public services follows hard on the heels of another split over environment policy - this time with Michael Meacher against everyone else.