John Reid to Step Down

I like John Reid, but I confess I was glad that he has revealed that he's decided to step down. It's hard to renew a government when all the old faces insist on staying on. Indeed, one of the problems with a potential Miliband government was that said old faces were promoting his candidacy as a means to hold onto their jobs - Miliband would have been the only fresh face in the line-up.

Reid leaving means that Brown has a free hand to bring in new blood. If I was Brown, I'd give Miliband the Foreign office, make Balls Chancellor and put Denham into the Home Office (because Denham resigned over Iraq, he brings a considerable amount of goodwill with him, which the Home Office badly needs). That way three of the four top offices of state would be held by Englishmen, and two by young Englishmen.

I hope Brown promotes other backbenchers and young talent. One of Blair's faults has been his reluctance to remove familiar faces and bring in fresh blood. The 2001 and 2005 elections brought new blood into the parliamentary party, but Blair didn't really bother with them, only Miliband got promoted, and Balls, at Brown's insistence. And given the vast size of the parliamentary party, did he really need to bring back Mandelson and Blunkett after they resigned instead of giving someone else their chance?

As leader Blair should have been trying to bring on the next generation, in the way Kinnock brought him and Brown on. But he didn't bother and it falls to Brown to think about Labour's future. Hopefully the experienced Prime Minister Brown will be surrounded by a fresh and young team, and under his guidance, they will develop and show us what they are made off. In the process, Labour's future will be secured and the new government will throw up the leader who will succeed Brown in six to eight years.