A big welcome back to the blogroll for Labour MP Tom Watson, who I dropped when he became a government whip as he’d no longer be able to be interesting. But let’s face it, anyone called “disloyal, discourteous and wrong” by our dear Prime Minister has got be alright. I also love the petulant PM’s “you can’t quit – you’re fired!” nonsense mentioned further down that BBC report. Grow up, Tony…

The key bit from Watson’s resignation letter to Tony:

“I no longer believe that your remaining in office is in the interest of either the party or the country. How and why this situation has arisen no longer matters. I share the view of the overwhelming majority of the party and the country that the only way the Party and the Government can renew itself in office is urgently to renew its leadership.”

Considering that this has all kicked off in the last couple of hours, the extent of the fallout is hard to tell. A potential Geoffrey Howe moment or yet another in a long succession of damp squibs thanks to Blair’s continual refusal to accept that anyone else’s opinions might have some validity?

Tim Ireland is compiling a linkdump about Watson’s resignation which will be worth keeping an eye on to see what’s next.

Update: The UK Today has a handy roundup of the most recent Labour party spats, in case you’ve lost track of them all…