Certainly better than Dyke...

Matthew Parris poses a very interesting (though I suspect ultimately fruitless) question today: why on earth doesn't John Major stand for London Mayor? He's still quite young at 64, a Londoner through and through, a keen sportsman and experienced politician and, crucially, his stock has been gently rising ever since the gloss came off the shiny New Labour toy.

The mayoral election is such that, despite the importance of the decision, celebrity matters almost as much as policy, and John Major is an equal to Ken Livingstone on that front. There's a base of quite serious anger against Livingstone - a serious contender for mayor would stand a very good chance. It's a pity, therefore, that John Major is enjoying the fruits of retirement too much to re-enter the fray.