“The Prime Minister was elected earlier this year in a very strong election result. He said he would go before the end of this Parliament – that means by May 2010 – and he will go towards the end of the Parliament.

“I would urge him myself to stay right up towards the end of the Parliament”

So, you know, just spring a new, untested leader on the public right before a general election, giving them no chance to formulate their own policies, appoint their own people to the positions they want, or to allow the public a chance to get used to them? Genius.

(Although actually, considering the Tories are still likely to be fucked by 2009/10 and the voting system won’t have been reformed, Labour could put a donkey in a leotard up for PM and still get in with a majority – maybe Clarke’s got a point after all…)

Update: More guff on this at the Guardian – vaguely interesting, actually, which makes a change from the usual Blair vs. Brown stuff that gets churned out whenever any paper’s got space to fill…

Update 2: For fuck’s sake – won’t somebody rid me of this troublesome Home Secretary? It would appear that he’s now proposing to execute every single teenager in the country – that’s the only way I can envisage that he’ll be able to “eliminate disrespect and antisocial behaviour”. What a twat.