Resignation of James Purnell

Am home from electioneering and trying to stay awake to watch the English council results. The news that James Purnell, the Work & Pensions secretary has resigned from Gordon Brown's cabinet, certainly helped to wake me up a bit! It's not just the resignation of yet another government minister but the letter that went with it calling on Gordon Brown to step aside "for the sake of the Labour Party we both love"! Oh dear. Not looking good at all. Personally, I've put everything on hold awaiting the date of the Glasgow North East by-election (my own constituency where Michael Martin is standing down) but I have a sneaking suspicion that it won't be happening because an early general election is almost inevitable now. I just don't see how Brown can hang on and this resignation could open the floodgates. That, combined with the letter from the backbench Labour MPs saying Brown should go AND the SNP/Plaid Cymru motion (being debated next week) calling for a general election makes it very hard for the Labour Government to stay in power. I'd hang on if I were them and I'd go for a reshuffle which, apparently, they are doing. I'd go for a general election once the new team had scored a few hits. That's if I were them .... if I were me on the other hand, I'd think the only morally correct way forward was to call a general election and that's what I think they'll end up feeling they have to do. Exciting times!